JP5324685B2 - Flat conductor electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector for a flat conductor.

  As the flat conductor, a flexible substrate (FPC), a flat cable, and the like are known. Such flat conductors are often connected to electrical connectors attached to circuit boards. As a connector to which such a flat conductor is connected, for example, there is a connector disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  The terminals in the connector of Patent Document 1 are made while maintaining the flat plate surface of the metal plate as it is, and many terminals are arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the plate thickness. The terminal has a hook-like arm portion and a fixed arm portion that are substantially parallel to each other, and both are connected by a connecting portion. Each terminal is inserted and accommodated in a terminal groove formed so as to penetrate left and right on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower walls of the housing. A hook-shaped arm portion is accommodated in the terminal groove on the upper wall side, and a fixed arm portion is accommodated in the terminal groove on the lower wall side. A fixing recess is formed at the right end portion of the fixed arm portion and is fitted and fixed to the right end edge of the lower wall of the housing.

  The hook-shaped arm portion has a protruding pressing portion at the left end, and the fixed arm portion has a protruding contact portion at the left end. The pressing portion and the contact portion are opposed to each other, and a flat conductor is inserted between them. On the other hand, in the region to the right of the connecting portion, a pressure receiving portion is formed in the bowl-shaped arm portion, and a curved concave portion is formed in the fixed arm portion, and the cam portion of the movable member is provided between the pressure receiving portion and the curved concave portion. positioned.

  The movable member is rotated between an open position and a closed position. When in the open position, the flat conductor is inserted between the pressing portion of the bowl-shaped arm portion and the contact portion of the fixed arm portion, and in the closed position, the cam portion of the movable member fixes the pressure receiving portion to the fixed arm portion. Displace in the direction away from. When the pressure receiving portion is displaced in this direction, the hook-shaped arm portion tilts like a ridge with the position of the connecting portion as a fulcrum, and as a result, the pressing portion presses the flat conductor against the contact portion, and the flat shape is brought into contact with pressure The conductor and the contact portion are electrically connected.

  The fixed arm portion having a contact portion is supported in contact with the bottom of the terminal groove from the beginning over almost the entire length, and contacts the flat conductor at a predetermined position with a predetermined contact pressure without being displaced.

  The connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 is called a back flip type because the movable member is located on the rear side opposite to the contact portion in the longitudinal direction of the fixed arm portion and the hook-shaped arm portion. The On the other hand, there is a so-called front flip type in which the movable member is located in front of the contact portion. In this front flip type, the movable member itself presses the flat conductor against the contact portion in the closed position. Therefore, when the flat conductor is squeezed particularly in the vertical direction in a state where the movable member is in the closed position, there is a problem that the movable member is easily pushed out toward the open position. In this respect, in the back flip type, even if the hook-shaped arm portion is pushed upward by a flat conductor, the pressure-receiving portion of the hook-shaped arm portion acts in a direction to sandwich the cam portion by the lever principle. Hold the flat conductor firmly. Also, in the case of the front flip type, compared to the state in which the movable member presses the flat conductor, the back flip type presses the flat conductor so that the pressing portion of the terminal has a small area and bites into the flat conductor. Therefore, in this respect, it can be said that the flat conductor is less likely to come out than the front flip type. Thus, the back flip type is not only that the position of the movable member is different from the front flip type, but also has a significant functional difference, and is distinguished from the front flip type.

JP2007-48499A

  Such a flat conductor electrical connector has a large number of terminals. Therefore, due to the shape / dimension error of the terminal and the assembly error, the position of the contact portion in the contact pressure direction with the flat conductor often varies among a large number of terminals. In the electrical connector for back flip type flat conductor disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the fixed arm portion having the contact portion is always in a fixed position when contacting the flat conductor, the contact portion of each terminal is In the contact pressure direction, the flat conductor is contacted at a position with variation. This means that the contact pressure at the terminal, that is, the contact state is not uniform, resulting in a contact unstable terminal. In the worst case, a terminal that does not come out comes out.

  Next, the movable member is locked in the closed position in order to maintain the position where the flat conductor is pressed. However, as described above, when the movable member reaches the closed position and presses the flat conductor against the contact portion of the fixed arm portion with a predetermined pressure, the contact portion of the fixed arm portion is always in a fixed position and is not displaced. The force for operating the member toward the closed position increases rapidly when locked, making operation difficult.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention absorbs the influence of the variation during the pressing of the flat conductor even if the position of the contact portion of each terminal varies when the connector is completed, and any terminal is necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a back-flip type flat conductor electrical connector that can obtain a contact pressure and prevents a locking force from rapidly increasing.

  A back flip type flat conductor electrical connector according to the present invention includes a plurality of terminals obtained by externalizing the metal plate while maintaining a flat plate surface of the metal plate, and the plurality of terminals connected to the plate. With rotation between a housing formed with a terminal groove for receiving at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the surface, an open position where the flat conductor can be inserted into the housing, and a closed position which presses the flat conductor The terminal is connected to the pressing arm portion by a connecting portion at a middle position in the longitudinal direction of the pressing arm portion. A support arm portion extending in the same direction, the pressing arm portion having a pressing portion for pressing the flat conductor on one end side, and the other end side when the movable member is moved to the closed position. A pressure receiving portion for receiving pressure from the cam portion of the movable member, and The holding arm portion is formed with a support portion supporting the flat conductor on one end side so as to protrude toward the pressing portion, and the pressing arm portion receives the pressure from the cam portion by receiving the force from the cam portion. The part is elastically displaced in the same plane as the plate surface of the terminal, thereby bringing a contact pressure between the support part and the flat conductor.

  In an electrical connector for a flat conductor, according to the present invention, the cam portion of the movable member can be inserted between the pressing portion and the support portion on the one end side when the movable member is in the open position. And the support arm portion has a shape that pressurizes the pressure receiving portion so that the contact pressure is generated when the movable member is in the closed position, and the support arm portion includes the connecting portion until the movable member reaches the closed position from the open position. It can be elastically deformed over the range from the position on the side to the position of the support part, and the edge part on the opposite side to the support part is gradually toward the support part between the groove bottom of the terminal groove of the housing When the movable member reaches the closed position when the gap is widened, the support portion is pressed by the flat conductor, and the support arm portion is elastically deformed, so that the position of the support portion is changed from the position on the connection portion side. In the range up to That comes into contact.

  According to the present invention having such a configuration, the flat conductor is inserted between the pressing portion formed on the pressing arm portion of the terminal and the supporting portion formed on the supporting arm portion when the movable member is in the open position. After that, the movable member is operated and the flat conductor is pressed against the support portion during the transition toward the closed position, and the support arm portion is pressed from the flat conductor and elastically bent with the position on the connecting portion side as a fulcrum. When this occurs and approaches the groove bottom of the terminal groove to reduce the gap, and the movable member reaches a predetermined closed position, the gap disappears and the support arm portion extends from the position on the connecting portion side to the position of the support portion. It contacts the groove bottom of the terminal groove. In this closed position, the movable member is locked.

  Even if the position of the support part of the terminal varies when the flat conductor is not inserted, if the movable member moves toward the closed position, the flat conductor contacts the support part of each terminal one after another during the transition. The contact pressure gradually increases as the elastic deformation amount of the support arm portion increases. Therefore, even if there is a variation in the position of the support portion for each terminal at the beginning, the influence of the variation during the elastic deformation of the support arm portion is absorbed, and all the terminals come into contact with the flat conductor, and the necessary contact is obtained. The pressure will be secured. Since the contact pressure gradually increases, the reaction force to the movable member gradually increases to reach the locking force. Therefore, the locking force of the movable member does not increase rapidly.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the support arm portion has a gap between the terminal groove and the groove bottom that is linearly widened toward the support portion. The elastic deformation of the cantilevered support arm with the position of the support arm on the side of the connecting part as a fulcrum increases toward the support part (front end part), so that the gap is adjusted accordingly. It should be wide. As a result, the support arm part gradually contacts the groove bottom of the terminal groove from the connection part side to the support part position, or the above range simultaneously contacts the groove bottom. Touch.

  In the present invention, the support arm portion has an extension portion extending in the longitudinal direction from the connection portion to the other end portion in the direction opposite to the support portion, and the fixed portion to which the extension portion is fixed by the housing. It is desirable to have.

  Further, in the present invention, the terminal support portion can be a contact portion that performs electrical connection with the flat conductor.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the support arm portion of the terminal on which the support portion for supporting the flat conductor under contact pressure is elastic over the range from the position on the connection portion side to the position of the support portion. The support part is elastically displaced as the contact pressure rises when the movable member is turned toward the closed position, so when the connector is completed, that is, before pressing with the flat conductor Even if there is a variation in the position of the support portion of each terminal, the influence of this variation can be absorbed while the movable member reaches the closed position, so that the support portion of each terminal can secure the necessary contact pressure. Get contact stability for the terminals. Further, when the movable member is locked at the closed position, since the elastic displacement is present immediately before, the locking force does not increase rapidly, and the operation of the movable member becomes easy.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the connector of one Embodiment of this invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the connector of FIG. 1 at a terminal position, where FIG. 1A shows a state in which a movable member is in an open position and FIG. It is sectional drawing of the connector of other embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire backflip type flat cable electrical connector of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at a terminal position. The connector shown in FIG. A plurality of plate-shaped terminals having a flat surface parallel to the paper surface are arranged and held by the housing at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. 2A shows a state in which the movable member is in the open position, and FIG. 2B shows the state in the closed position.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and includes a horizontally long housing 10, a plurality of terminals 20 held by the housing 10 and arranged in the horizontally long direction, and the housing 10. A rotatable movable member 30 that is supported and a metal fitting 40 for attaching the housing 10 to a circuit board that is a connector attachment target are provided.

  The housing 10 is made of an electrical insulating material and has a substantially rectangular outer shape. In FIG. 2A, each plate-like terminal parallel to the paper surface is inserted in a direction parallel to the plane including the plate surface. A slit-like terminal groove 11 is formed between the upper wall 10A and the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10. The groove width of the slit-like terminal groove 11 (distance between the opposing inner wall surfaces in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is slightly larger than the plate thickness of the plate-like terminal. In this embodiment, the terminal is located from the right end of the housing. It is inserted toward the left.

  The terminal groove 11 is formed at a predetermined interval in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface corresponding to the terminal, and is formed to penetrate the housing 10 from side to side.

  A cable insertion space 12 is formed in a substantially left half region in the lateral direction of the housing 10 so as to communicate with the plurality of terminal grooves 11 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and open at the left end of the housing. The cable insertion space 12 has a dimension slightly larger in the height direction than the thickness of the flat cable to be inserted, and a tapered portion 12A is formed in the opening to facilitate cable insertion. .

  On the other hand, in the substantially right half region of the housing 10 in the lateral direction, an opening 13 is formed that opens upward and allows the terminal grooves 11 to communicate with each other in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. A movable member 30 described later is disposed in the opening 13.

  The housing 10 is provided with an island-shaped holding wall portion 14 between the upper wall 10A and the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10 in the terminal receiving groove 11, and the holding wall portion 14 is Opposing inner wall surfaces in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of the terminal groove 11 are connected to each other.

  The terminal 20 inserted and held in the housing 10 is maintained in the flat surface of the metal plate as it is and has an outer shape, and as shown in FIG. It has the part 21 and the support arm part 22 located in the lower part. The pressing arm portion 21 and the supporting arm portion 22 extend to the left and right substantially in parallel, and are respectively housed in the upper and lower portions of the terminal groove 11 of the housing 10. The pressing arm portion 21 and the supporting arm portion 22 are connected by a connecting portion 23 at an intermediate position in the left-right direction.

  The pressing arm portion 21 extends leftward and rightward from the position of the connecting portion 23, and has a hook-shaped pressing portion 21 </ b> A protruding downward at the left front end position. In the vicinity of the end position, there is a pressure receiving portion 21B that is slightly concavely bent at the lower edge and receives a force from a cam portion described later. A straight edge 21C is formed on the left side of the pressure receiving portion 21B. The pressing arm portion 21 has a portion on the right side of the connecting portion 23 located in the opening portion 13 and a left portion on the upper edge 21E and the inner surface of the upper wall 10A of the housing 10 (the upper groove of the terminal groove 11). A gap is formed between the bottom surface and the bottom surface.

  Next, similarly to the pressing arm portion 21, the support arm portion 22 also extends leftward and rightward from the position of the connecting portion 23. At the front end of the portion extending to the left, a hook-shaped support portion 22A that protrudes upward is provided opposite to the pressing portion 21A of the pressing arm portion 21. Further, a held portion 22 </ b> B protruding upward is provided at a position immediately to the left of the connecting portion 23. The held portion 22B is pressed and held between the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10 and the island-like holding wall portion 14 when the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal groove 11 from the right side.

  When the movable member 30 is in the open position as shown in FIG. 2A, the support arm portion 22 extends from the held portion 22B to the support portion 22A on the distal end side in the longitudinal direction of the support arm portion 22. Over the range, the lower edge forms a gap δ between the bottom wall 10B of the housing, that is, the groove bottom of the terminal groove 11. The gap δ is formed from the position of the held portion 22B, and its value gradually increases toward the support portion 22A, and is maximum at the position of the support portion 22A. Specifically, the maximum value may be about 0.03 mm. The support portion 22A may be used as a contact portion that comes into contact with the circuit portion of the flat conductor to be conductive, or may simply contact and support the insulating portion.

  The support arm portion 22 extends rightward from the connecting portion 23 to form an extension portion, and a protruding stopper portion 22C, a concavely bent portion 22D, and a connecting portion 22E are sequentially arranged at the right position of the connecting portion 23. Have. In the case of the present embodiment, the concavely curved portion 22D has a circular arc shape and is formed at a position facing the concave portion 21B of the pressing arm portion 21. When the connector 22E is arranged on a circuit board (not shown), the connecting portion 22E has a lower edge that protrudes out of the housing 10, is bent downward, and is located slightly below the lower surface of the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10. The corresponding circuit portion is connected by solder or the like.

  The connecting portion 22E has a fixed groove portion 22E-1 formed in a portion protruding out of the housing 10, and the fixed groove portion 22E-1 is fitted to the right end edge 10B-1 of the bottom wall 10B of the housing. The right portion of the support arm portion 22 is fixed to the housing 10.

  Similar to the housing, the movable member 30 is made of an electrical insulating material, and extends in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface over substantially the same range as the housing 10. As shown in the drawing, the movable member 30 is perpendicular to the paper surface. Thus, a through slit-shaped groove 31 is formed at a position corresponding to the terminal 20, an upper part of the groove 31 is an operating part 32, and a lower part is an elliptical cam part 33. The movable member 30 is rotated by a user's operation between an open position where it can stand upright as shown in FIG. 2 (A) and a closed position (see FIG. 2 (B)) which is inverted in the horizontal direction. It can move with it. The movable member 30 is incorporated into the housing 10 so that the right portion of the pressing arm portion 21 of the terminal enters the groove portion 31 in the open position of FIG. 2A, and the left portion of the cam portion 33 is a terminal. 20 is close to the support arm portion 22 stopper portion 22C, and the right portion is in contact with the upper edge of the support arm portion 22 of the terminal 10 so as to be positioned immediately above the concavely bent portion 22D. In FIG. 2A, the lateral length of the cam portion 33 is made larger than the facing distance between the concave portion 21B of the terminal and the concave bent portion 22D.

  The connector of this embodiment configured as described above is assembled and used in the following manner.

  (1) First, the terminal 20 is assembled into the housing 10. Each terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal groove 11 of the housing 10 from the right opening side toward the left. As the insertion proceeds, the held portion 22B of the terminal 20 is press-fitted between the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10 and the island-shaped holding wall portion 14, and the fixing groove portion 22E- formed on the left edge of the connecting portion 22E. 1 is fitted to the right edge 10 </ b> B- 1 of the bottom wall 10 </ b> B of the housing 10. Thus, the terminal 20 is positioned at a predetermined position and firmly held at that position. Since the held portion 22B to be press-fitted and held is formed higher than the support portion 22A, the contact portion 22A passes between the bottom wall 10B and the holding wall portion 14 without difficulty when the terminal 20 is inserted. it can.

  (2) Next, the movable member 30 is assembled in the state shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, that is, in an open position that stands upright. The movable member 30 is moved to the left so that the right portion of the pressing arm portion 21 of the terminal 20 enters the groove portion 31 of the movable member 30. The movable member 30 has a cam portion 33 that fits into a concave portion between the stopper portion 22C of the terminal 20 and the concave bent portion 22D. Thus, the assembly of the connector is completed.

  (3) Such a connector is brought on a predetermined circuit board (not shown) in use. The connection portion 22E of the terminal 20 is connected to the corresponding circuit portion by solder or the like, and is fixed to the circuit board by a metal fitting 40 or a screw.

  (4) Next, a flat conductor C, for example, a flexible board is inserted into the cable insertion space 12 from the left side, and then, as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (B), the movable member is moved. Rotate clockwise to the closed position. When the movable member 30 is rotated, the cam portion 33 changes from the horizontal posture in FIG. 1 to the vertical posture in FIG. 2B, whereby the terminal 20 is moved upward by the pressure receiving portion 21 </ b> B of the pressing arm portion 21. The pressing arm portion 21 is inclined and displaced upward at a portion on the right side of the connecting portion 23. Therefore, according to the lever principle, the pressing arm portion 21 is inclined and displaced downward on the left side of the connecting portion 23 with the connecting portion 23 as a fulcrum. Accordingly, the flat conductor C inserted between the pressing portion 21 </ b> A formed on the pressing arm portion 21 of the terminal 20 and the supporting portion 22 </ b> A formed on the supporting arm portion 22 is caused by the pressing portion 21 </ b> A of the pressing arm portion 21. The pressure is pressed downward, and as a result, the pressure is sandwiched between the pressing portion 21 </ b> A and the supporting portion 22 </ b> A of the supporting arm portion 22. Since the flat conductor C pushes the support arm portion 22 downward by the support portion 22A, the support arm portion having a gap with the bottom wall 10B of the housing 10 (groove bottom of the terminal groove 11). 22, a flexible portion between the held portion 22 </ b> B and the support portion 22 </ b> A bends downward by the force from the flat conductor C. The flexible portion bends in a cantilever shape with a position corresponding to the held portion 22B in the longitudinal direction of the support arm portion 22 as a fulcrum. The bending gradually increases as the movable member 30 moves to the closed position, and the flexible portion comes into contact with the bottom wall 10B, so that the increase in the bending is stopped. As supported.

  As described above, the support portion 22A of the support arm portion 22 that sandwiches the flat conductor C in cooperation with the press portion 21A of the press arm portion 21 is elastically displaced downward while sandwiching the flat conductor C. Even if the positions of the support portions 22A in the vertical direction vary between the terminals 20 before clamping, the flat conductor C is in contact with the support portions 22A of all the terminals 20 in the process of the elastic displacement. In addition, since the flexible portion abuts against the bottom wall 10B, the force of sandwiching the flat conductor C supported by the bottom wall 10B is improved, and a contact pressure of a predetermined value or more is applied to all the support portions 22A. Secured. When the flexible portion comes into contact with the bottom wall 10B, the movable member 30 is locked by a lock portion (not shown) to maintain the closed position. Immediately before locking, the bending at the flexible portion brings a reaction force corresponding to the bending to the movable member. Therefore, the force required to lock the movable member does not increase rapidly and is locked smoothly. The

  If the flat conductor C held in this way has a connection circuit surface on the lower surface, it is in electrical contact with the terminal at the support portion 22A, and if it has a connection circuit surface on the upper surface, Connected by the pressing portion 21A. Of course, if both sides have connection circuit surfaces, they are connected by both portions 21A and 22A. At the time of connection with the flat conductor C, the pressing portion 21A formed sharply downward is a reinforcing plate made of the flat conductor C (a reinforcement made of an insulating material provided on the surface opposite to the connection circuit surface of the flat conductor). It is possible to reliably prevent the flat conductor from coming off by biting into the member.

  The present invention is not limited to the form shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, in the arrangement of the terminals 20 shown in FIG. 2, some or every other terminal 20 ′ attached from the opposite direction to the terminals 20 can be arranged. In this example, the terminal 20 ′ does not have a pressing arm portion, but even in this case, the terminal 20 ′ also has a support arm portion 22 ′ in the range from the held portion 22′B to the support portion 22′A. It is desirable to have a gap between the bottom wall 10 </ b> B of the housing 10. In addition, the two types of terminals 20 and terminals 20 ′ are positioned so that the support portions 22A and the support portions 22′A are shifted in the left-right direction, and are, for example, staggered when viewed from above. By doing so, the contact points can be dispersed in a relatively wide range with the flat conductor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing 22A Support part 11 Terminal groove 22'A Support part 14 Holding wall part 22B Holding part 20 Terminal 23 Connection part 20 'Terminal 30 Movable member 21 Pressing arm part 33 Cam part 21A Pressing part C Flat conductor 21B Pressure receiving part 22 Support arm

Claims (4)

A plurality of terminals obtained by externalizing the metal plate while maintaining a flat plate surface of the metal plate, and a terminal groove for receiving the plurality of terminals at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface are formed. And a movable member movable with rotation between an open position that allows the flat conductor to be inserted into the housing and a closed position that presses the flat conductor. A pressing arm portion having a hook shape extending in the insertion / extraction direction as a longitudinal direction, and a supporting arm portion coupled to the pressing arm portion by a coupling portion at a longitudinal intermediate position of the pressing arm portion and extending in the same direction. The arm portion has a pressing portion for pressing the flat conductor on one end side, and a pressure receiving portion for receiving pressure from the cam portion of the movable member when the movable member is moved to the closed position on the other end side. The support arm portion is supported on the one end side by the support portion that supports the flat conductor. The pressing arm portion receives the force from the cam portion at the pressure receiving portion, and the pressure receiving portion generates an elastic displacement in the same plane as the plate surface of the terminal. In an electrical connector for a flat conductor that brings in contact pressure with the mold conductor,
The cam portion of the movable member allows a flat conductor to be inserted between the pressing portion and the support portion at the one end when the movable member is in the open position, and the contact pressure is generated when the movable member is in the closed position. The support arm portion has a shape that pressurizes the pressure receiving portion as described above, and the support arm portion covers a range from the position on the connection portion side to the position of the support portion until the movable member reaches the closed position from the open position. In addition to being elastically deformable, the edge on the opposite side of the support part forms a gap that gradually widens toward the support part between the terminal groove of the housing and the movable member is closed. When the position is reached, the support portion is pressed against the flat conductor, and the support arm portion is elastically deformed to eliminate the gap from the position on the connection portion side to the position of the support portion. Characterized by contact with the groove bottom Electrical connector type conductor.   The flat conductor electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the support arm portion has a gap between the terminal groove and the groove bottom that is linearly widened toward the support portion.   The support arm portion has an extension portion extending in the longitudinal direction from the coupling portion to the other end portion in the direction opposite to the support portion, and the extension portion has a fixed portion to be fixed by the housing. The electrical connector for flat conductors according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The flat connector electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal support portion is a contact portion for electrical connection with the flat conductor.

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