JP5915142B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector configured to hold a terminal portion of a signal transmission medium inserted into an insulating housing by an engaging force of a locking lock portion.

  In general, various electrical connectors are widely used as means for electrically connecting various signal transmission media such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) in various electrical devices. It is used. For example, in an electrical connector that is mounted on a printed wiring board and used as described in Patent Document 1 below, a signal transmission medium made of FPC, FFC, or the like is inserted into the inside from the front end side opening of an insulating housing (housing). Thereafter, the actuator (pressure member) is rotated so as to be pushed down toward the connection operation position on the front side or the rear side of the connector by the operator's operation force. As a result, a part of the locking member (reinforcing metal fitting) falls into the engaging portion provided at the terminal portion of the signal transmission medium to be engaged, and the terminal portion of the signal transmission medium is held substantially immovable by the locking member. The structure is made.

  As described above, the electrical connector provided with the actuator is configured to operate engagement / disengagement of the lock member by rotating the actuator between the connection release position and the connection operation position. Since it is necessary to operate the actuator separately from the operation of inserting a medium (FPC, FFC, etc.), the work efficiency may be a problem. Therefore, for example, as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 below, the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing is elastically displaced so that a part of the lock member rides on, and then the signal transmission medium is engaged. Conventionally, an electrical connector having a so-called one-action auto-lock mechanism, which is configured such that a part of a lock member falls into a part and engages, has been developed. If an electrical connector equipped with such a one-action auto-lock mechanism is used, the signal transmission medium can be held in a substantially stationary state simply by inserting the signal transmission medium to a predetermined position inside the electrical connector. Is improved.

  However, the one-action auto-locking mechanism employed in the conventional electrical connector has an advantage that locking is performed only by inserting a signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) into the electrical connector as described above. The structure of the lock mechanism having a lock-and-lock part and the unlocking operation mechanism for releasing the engaged state tends to be complicated, and there is a risk that productivity may be reduced due to an increase in the number of parts, and durability for use May cause problems with sex.

JP 2003-100370 A JP 2009-231069 JP 2011-040246 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can simplify the configuration and operability of a lock mechanism having a locking lock portion and a lock release operation mechanism, and can improve the durability of use. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a signal transmission medium is configured such that a board connecting portion is solder-bonded to a wiring board and mounted on the wiring board, and is inserted into an insulating housing. A locking lock portion that engages with the terminal portion of the lock plate and holds the signal transmission medium in a substantially immovable state is attached to a lock arm member that is elastically displaceable, and the locking lock portion is engaged. In the electrical connector configured to release the state by the operation of the unlocking operation part, the lock arm member extends in a cantilever form from the board connection part, and the lock arm The locking lock portion is integrally provided at a free end position in the extending direction of the member, and reaches the locking lock portion in the extending direction of the lock arm member. The position, the fixed substrate fixed to the insulating housing, the folded portion is a bent portion extending inverted from the fixed substrate on the side surface U-shape, is provided, the locking locked and the fixed substrate between the parts, while the insertion space of the signal transmission medium is formed, the unlock operation portion is provided integrally so as to extend branched from the middle position in the locking arm member, the A configuration is employed in which the unlocking operation portion and the locking lock portion are arranged in regions opposite to each other with respect to the folded portion .

  According to the present invention having such a configuration, since the board connecting portion, the locking lock portion, and the unlocking operation portion are integrally provided on the lock arm member, the locking lock portion is engaged with the signal transmission medium. The combined operation and the releasing operation are performed by the operation with respect to the same member, and the number of parts of the lock mechanism and the unlock operation mechanism for the signal transmission medium is greatly reduced, and the use durability is improved. Has been improved.

Furthermore, if such a configuration is adopted, the releasing operation of the locking lock portion with respect to the signal transmission medium is performed so as to form a lever shape with the elastic displacement of the folded portion provided in the lock arm portion. The amount of movement of the unlocking operation portion is reduced as compared with the case where only the locking lock portion is moved, and as a result, the height of the electrical connector can be reduced.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the unlock operation section is provided so as to branch from the lock arm member over a plurality of bodies.

  If such a configuration is adopted, the operation force applied to the unlocking operation unit is distributed to a plurality of parts, and the locking lock unit is caused by a twist of the lock arm member caused by the local application of the operation force. The risk of insufficient movement of the is reduced.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the insulating housing in the present invention is integrally provided with an operation cover that covers the unlocking operation part from the outside so as to be able to come into contact with the unlocking operation part.

  If such a configuration is adopted, the operation force for the unlocking operation part is indirectly applied via the operation cover, and therefore there is a risk that the entire lock arm member including the unlocking operation part may be plastically deformed. Reduced.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the lock arm member according to the present invention is provided with an opening portion through which the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing can be seen.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the insertion of the signal transmission medium is completed, the insertion state of the signal transmission medium becomes visible through the opening. Improper engagement is immediately confirmed.

As described above, the electrical connector according to the present invention is provided with the locking lock portion at the free end position of the lock arm member that is integrally extended from the board connection portion in a cantilevered manner and can be elastically displaced. in the middle position reaches the lock portions of the fixed substrate fixed to the insulating housing, are provided and a folded portion extending inverted from the fixed substrate on the side surface U-shape, and the fixed substrate and the lock portion signal transmission medium inserted figure lower profile by which the space formed Rutotomoni, by providing the unlocking operation portion so as to branch from the middle position of the locking arm member, the board connecting portion between the locking lock And the unlocking operation portion are formed integrally with the lock arm member, and the engagement operation of the locking lock portion with respect to the signal transmission medium and the release operation thereof are the operations with respect to the same member. Since the number of parts of the lock mechanism and the unlock operation mechanism for the transmission medium is greatly reduced to make the structure simple and the durability of use is improved, the lock mechanism and the unlock operation mechanism The use durability can be improved while facilitating the configuration and operation, and the reliability of the electrical connector can be greatly improved at low cost.

It is an appearance perspective explanatory view showing the state just before a signal transmission medium is inserted in the electric connector concerning one embodiment of the present invention from the front side. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1. It is front explanatory drawing of the electrical connector represented to FIG.1 and FIG.2. FIG. 4 is a cross sectional explanatory view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is the external appearance perspective explanatory view which looked at the locking member used for the electrical connector represented to FIGS. 1-4 from the connector center side (inward side). FIG. 6 is an external perspective view illustrating the lock member shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from the connector outer side. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 1, showing a state immediately before the signal transmission medium is inserted into the electrical connector. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 7, showing a state in which the signal transmission medium is being inserted into the connector from the state of FIG. 7. The signal transmission medium is further inserted from the state shown in FIG. 8, the insertion of the signal transmission medium into the electrical connector is completed, and the crossing corresponding to FIG. 7 shows the locked state in which the locking lock portion is engaged with the signal transmission medium. It is surface explanatory drawing. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 7 illustrating a state in which the signal transmission medium is removed from the electrical connector after the locking operation is released from the locked state illustrated in FIG. It is plane explanatory drawing which showed the locked state which the insertion of the signal transmission medium with respect to the electrical connector completed, and the latching lock part engaged with the signal transmission medium.

  Hereinafter, the present invention is applied to an electrical connector that is mounted on a printed wiring board and used for electrical connection of a signal transmission medium such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC). The embodiment described above will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[General configuration of electrical connector]
First, an electrical connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 is composed of an electrical connector provided with a so-called non-ZIF type one-action auto-lock mechanism. Then, the terminal portion of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC or the like) F described above is passed through the medium insertion port 11a provided in the front end edge (left end edge in FIG. 4) of the insulating housing 11 and is inside the insulating housing 11. The signal transmission medium F is automatically locked when inserted to a predetermined position.

[Insulating housing]
The insulating housing 11 is formed of a hollow frame-like insulating member extending in an elongated shape. The longitudinal width direction of the insulating housing 11 is hereinafter referred to as a “connector longitudinal direction”, and a signal The direction in which the terminal portion of the transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F is inserted / removed is referred to as “connector longitudinal direction”.

  The front end edge portion (left end edge portion in FIG. 4) of the insulating housing 11 has a terminal portion of the signal transmission medium F composed of a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a flexible flat cable (FFC), or the like as described above. Is inserted in the connector longitudinal direction so as to be elongated. Further, lock members 12 and 12 ′ constituting a lock mechanism and a lock release mechanism described later are mounted on both ends of the insulating housing 11 in the connector longitudinal direction and on both sides of the medium insertion port 11a. . Further, a vertical hole slit for mounting the conductive contact 13 on the rear end side portion (the right end edge portion in FIG. 4) of the insulating housing 11, that is, on the opposite side portion in the connector front-rear direction with respect to the medium insertion port 11a described above. The component mounting ports 11b are formed in a multipolar shape so as to be exposed at the medium insertion port 11a at an appropriate interval along the connector longitudinal direction.

[About conductive contacts]
The conductive contact 13 is formed of a thin plate-shaped metal member having an appropriate shape, and the plurality of conductive contacts 13 are arranged on the front side (the left side in FIG. 4) from the component mounting port 11b on the rear end side of the insulating housing 11. And is arranged in a multipolar manner within the insulating housing 11 at an appropriate interval in the connector longitudinal direction. Each of these conductive contacts 13 is used in a state where it is mounted by solder bonding to a conductive path formed on a main printed wiring board (not shown) for either signal transmission or ground connection. .

  On the other hand, the signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F inserted into the inside of the insulating housing 11 through the medium insertion port 11a described above has a signal transmission conductive path (signal line pad) or a shield conductive path (shield wire). Wiring patterns Fb made up of pads) are arranged at appropriate pitch intervals, and the conductive contacts 13 described above are arranged at positions corresponding to the respective wiring patterns. The contact 13 is electrically connected.

  Each of the conductive contacts 13 has a shape extending along the connector front-rear direction, which is the insertion / removal direction of the signal transmission medium F (the left-right direction in FIG. 4). On the other hand, the fixed base 13a is fixed so as to be substantially immovable. A board connecting portion 13b is provided so as to protrude from the lower end edge on the rear side of the fixed base portion 13a toward the connector rear side (right side in FIG. 4). It is soldered to a signal transmission conductive path (signal line pad) formed on a printed wiring board (not shown).

  Further, a pair of upper contact beam 13c and lower contact beam 13d extend from the front end edge of the fixed base 13a described above so as to form a bifurcated shape toward the front side of the connector (left side in FIG. 4). Yes. The pair of the upper contact beam 13c and the lower contact beam 13d extend substantially in parallel along the front-rear direction of the connector, which is the insertion / removal direction of the signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F (left-right direction in FIG. These cantilevered beam members are arranged so as to oppose each other at an appropriate interval in the vertical direction in the figure in the internal space of the insulating housing 11 described above.

  The upper contact beam 13c and the lower contact beam 13d extend in a shape that warps away from the inner wall surface of the insulating housing 11 toward the front side of the connector (left side in FIG. 4). The above-described fixed base portion 13a is connected to the fixed base portion 13a or the vicinity thereof as a rotation center and is elastically displaced so as to swing by an appropriate amount in the vertical direction. The swinging of the contact beams 13c and 13d at that time is performed in the vertical direction within the plane of FIG.

  Also, wiring patterns (signal transmission) formed on the upper and lower surfaces of a signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC) F are formed on the front end side portions (left end side portions in FIG. 4) of the above-described upper contact beam 13c and lower contact beam 13d. The upper terminal contact convex portion 13c1 and the lower terminal contact convex portion 13d1 connected to any one of the conductive paths Fb or the shield are provided so as to be opposed to each other in a downward and upward protruding shape in the figure. ing. The upper terminal contact convex portion 13c1 and the lower terminal contact convex portion 13d1 provided on the conductive contacts 13 are configured to transmit the signal transmission medium F when the signal transmission medium F is inserted into the insulating housing 11 as described above. It is arranged so as to run on the wiring pattern Fb provided on the medium F, and when the signal transmission medium F is inserted to a predetermined final position, it is pressed by the elastic force between the contact beams 13c and 13d. Thus, the signal transmission medium F is sandwiched and electrically connected between the upper terminal contact protrusion 13c1 and the lower terminal contact protrusion 13d1.

  The opposing positions of the upper terminal contact convex portion 13c1 and the lower terminal contact convex portion 13d1 are shifted from each other toward the connector front side (left side in FIG. 4) or the connector rear side (right side in FIG. 4). It is also possible to arrange them, and it is good also as either one of the upper terminal contact convex part 13c1 or the lower terminal contact convex part 13d1 to be brought into an electrically connected state.

[One-action auto-lock mechanism]
The electrical connector 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with the one-action auto-lock mechanism as described above, but as a premise thereof, the terminal portion of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC) F is particularly shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, engagement positioning portions Fa and Fa formed of notch-shaped concave portions are formed at edge portions on both sides in the width direction. A pair of lock members 12, 12 'are provided on the electrical connector 10 side corresponding to the engaging positioning portions Fa, Fa provided on the signal transmission medium F, and the lock members 12, 12' The insertion state of the signal transmission medium F is maintained by a locking action (locking action). Since the lock members 12 and 12 'have a symmetrical relationship, only the lock member 12 disposed on the right side of the front will be described below, and the other lock member 12' will be described. Will be omitted.

[About locking members]
As described above, the lock members 12 disposed on both side portions of the insulating housing 11 in the connector longitudinal direction constitute a lock mechanism and a lock release mechanism for the signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F. 10, when the signal transmission medium F is inserted, a part of the lock member 12, more specifically, a locking lock portion 12 a described later, rides on the surface of the signal transmission medium F, and the locking lock The lock arm member 12b supporting the portion 12a is elastically displaced upward, and then the locking lock portion 12a falls toward the inside of the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium F, thereby engaging. A state (locked state) is made.

  The lock member 12 at this time is composed of an integrally folded structure of a thin metal member as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in particular, and a flat fixed substrate 12c fixed to the insulating housing 11 is provided. In addition, a substrate connection portion 12d, a lock arm member 12b, a locking lock portion 12a, and a lock release operation portion 12e are integrally formed with the fixed substrate 12c.

  More specifically, the above-described fixed substrate 12c is fixed to the bottom plate of the insulating housing 11 via the fixing claws 12c1 provided on the fixed substrate 12c, and the front edge of the fixed substrate 12c (FIG. 7). The board connecting portion 12d extends integrally from the left end edge of FIG. Further, a folded portion 12b1 of the lock arm member 12b extends integrally from the rear end edge (the right end edge in FIG. 7) of the fixed substrate 12c, and the movable upper plate connected to the folded portion 12b1. The locking lock portion 12a described above is integrally provided at the distal end portion of 12b2. Further, a pair of unlocking operation portions 12e and 12e are integrally provided so as to branch from the rear end side of the movable upper plate 12b2 of the lock arm member 12b.

  The board connecting portion 12d described above extends substantially horizontally from the front end edge (left end edge in FIG. 7) of the fixed board 12c to the front side of the connector via the descending step portion, and the board connecting portion 12d is connected to the main wiring board. It is made into the structure joined by soldering in the state mounted in (illustration omitted).

  Further, the lock arm member 12b is formed of a long band-shaped member having a cantilever structure, and protrudes from the rear end edge (the right end edge in FIG. 7) of the above-described fixed substrate 12c toward the connector rear side. It extends so as to be reversed to the front side of the connector via a folded portion 12b1 that is bent so that the side surface has a substantially U shape. Further, the movable upper plate 12b2 integrally connected from the folded portion 12b1 extends substantially horizontally toward the connector front side (left side in FIG. 7), and the free end of the movable upper plate 12b2 At the front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 7) which is a portion, a locking lock portion 12a for holding a signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC or the like) F is integrally provided.

  The lock arm member 12b having a cantilever structure having the folded portion 12b1 and the movable upper plate 12b2 is elastically displaceable in a direction rotating around the folded portion 12b1 or the vicinity thereof, and the lock arm member 12b. With the elastic piece, the locking lock portion 12a is configured to swing in the vertical direction within the plane of FIG.

  The locking lock portion 12a is formed by a hook-like member that protrudes downward from the movable upper plate 12b2 of the lock arm member 12b, and the edge portion on the connector center side at the front end portion of the movable upper plate 12b2 is substantially triangular downward. It is formed from a plate-like member that is bent so as to protrude into the shape. The locking lock portion 12a is provided with an inclined guide side extending obliquely upward from the apex portion on the lower end side toward the front side.

  The locking lock portion 12a having such a configuration is such that when the engagement positioning portion Fa provided on the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC or the like) F described above is disposed at a position immediately below, the elasticity of the lock arm member 12b is obtained. It is configured to be pushed down toward the inside of the engagement positioning portion Fa by a force and thereby brought into an engaged state (locked state) (see FIG. 9). The insertion state of the signal transmission medium F is maintained by the engagement force of 12a.

  At this time, the movable upper plate 12b2 of the lock arm member 12b is provided with an opening 12b3 through which a signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC or the like) F inserted into the insulating housing 11 can be seen. The opening portion 12b3 is formed on the rear side of the locking lock portion 12a described above, and is formed so as to cut out an end portion of the movable upper plate 12b2 on the connector center side into an elongated rectangular shape. As a result, as particularly shown in FIG. 11, the terminal portion of the signal transmission medium F inserted into the insulating housing 11 is viewed from above through the opening 12 b 3.

  Thus, if the opening 12b3 is provided in the lock arm member 12b, the insertion state of the signal transmission medium F is visually observed through the opening 12b3 when the insertion of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC) F is completed. This makes it possible to immediately confirm that the signal transmission medium F is insufficiently inserted and that the locking lock portion 12a is not properly engaged.

  On the other hand, as described above, the unlocking operation portion 12e is also formed integrally with the lock arm member 12b. More specifically, the pair of release connecting arm pieces 12e1, 12e1 extend from the rear end edge (right end edge in FIG. 7) of the above-described movable upper plate 12b2 to the connector rear side, A pair of unlocking operation portions 12e and 12e are provided so as to extend toward the rear side of the connector (the right side in FIG. 7) via the pair of release connecting arm pieces 12e1 and 12e1.

  The pair of release connecting arm pieces 12e1 and 12e1 described above are once bent downward from both side edges in the plate width direction (connector longitudinal direction) of the movable upper plate 12b2, and then the plate width of the movable upper plate 12b2. It is bent in a stepped shape so as to open outward in the direction of the connector (longitudinal direction of the connector), and from the stepped portion bent to the outward side, the connector rear side (right side in FIG. 7) It extends in a substantially straight line toward The above-described lock release operation portion 12e is integrally provided at the extended end portions of the pair of release connection arm pieces 12e1 and 12e1.

  Thus, the unlocking operation part 12e provided at the extending end of the pair of release connecting arm pieces 12e1 and 12e1 and the locking lock part 12a described above are as seen from the overall configuration of the lock arm member 12b. The lock portion 12b1 is disposed in a region opposite to the folded portion 12b1, and the locking lock portion 12a is disposed at the front end portion of the lock arm member 12b, while the lock arm member 12b is locked at the rear end portion. A release operation unit 12e is disposed. Then, when the unlocking operation portion 12e is pushed downward via an operation cover 11c described later (see FIG. 10), the above-described folded portion 12b1 is deformed so as to be compressed downward, and the folded portion 12b1. The locking lock portion 12a disposed on the opposite side of the lock plate 12a is displaced so as to be pushed upward against the elasticity of the lock arm member 12b having the movable upper plate 12b2. At this time, the lower end portion of the unlocking operation portion 12e and the bottom plate of the insulating housing 11 are in contact with each other, so that the amount of displacement of the lock member 12 during the unlocking operation is regulated within a necessary range, thereby preventing plastic deformation. can do.

  On the other hand, operation covers 11c and 11c provided on the insulating housing 11 are arranged at positions immediately above the pair of unlocking operation portions 12e and 12e. Each of these operation covers 11c is integrally provided on both side portions of the insulating housing 11 in the connector longitudinal direction, and from the front end edge portion (left end edge portion in FIG. 7) of the insulating housing 11 to the connector rear side ( The operation cover 11c is arranged at the rear end portion of the connector via a pair of operation connection arm pieces 11c1 and 11c1 extending toward the right side in FIG.

  The operation cover 11c is arranged so as to cover both of the pair of unlocking operation parts 12e and 12e described above from above, and the operation cover 11c is provided on both upper edge portions of the pair of unlocking operation parts 12e and 12e. Can be contacted. When the operator's fingertips are placed on the upper surfaces of the operation covers 11c and 11c arranged on both side portions in the connector longitudinal direction and pressed downward by performing the unlocking operation, the lock is performed as described above. The lock operation portion 12b1 is deformed so that the folding portion 12b1 is pushed down and contracted together with the release operation portions 12e and 12e, and the locking lock portion 12a is moved upward, and is engaged from the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC). The stop lock portion 12a is released and the locked state is released.

  Here, the state from insertion to engagement of the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC) F will be specifically described. First, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the signal transmission medium F is inserted into the insulating housing 11 through the medium insertion port 11 a of the insulating housing 11, the insertion side of the signal transmission medium F is inserted. The leading edge comes into contact with the inclined guide side of the locking lock portion 12a provided on the locking member 12, and the locking lock portion 12a rides on the surface of the signal transmission medium F. As a result, the lock arm member 12b including the movable upper plate 12b2 of the lock member 12 is elastically displaced so as to be pushed upward around the turning portion 12b1 and the swinging fulcrum in the vicinity thereof, and from this state, the signal transmission medium F 9 is further pushed toward the rear side, when the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium F moves to a position immediately below the locking lock portion 12a, as shown in FIG. The locking lock portion 12a is moved so as to be pushed down into the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium F by the elastic restoring force of the lock arm member 12b. As a result, the locking portion 12a is engaged with the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium F, and the signal transmission medium F is held so as not to come out.

  In this way, the signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC or the like) F is brought into the engaged state (locked state) by the lock member 12 and the signal transmission medium F is held as shown in FIG. When the unlocking operation portion 12e is pushed downward via the cover 11c and the unlocking operation is performed, the locking lock portion 12a is moved upward against the elastic force of the lock arm member 12b including the movable upper plate 12b2. The engagement lock portion 12a is moved away from the engagement positioning portion Fa of the signal transmission medium F, and the engagement state (lock state) by the lock member 12 is released.

  According to this embodiment having such a configuration, the board connecting portion 12d, the locking lock portion 12a, and the lock arm member 12b having the locking lock portion 12a that engages with the signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F are provided. Since the unlocking operation portion 12e is provided integrally, the engaging operation of the locking lock portion 12a with respect to the signal transmission medium F and the releasing operation thereof are performed by the operation with respect to the same member. The number of parts of the locking mechanism and the unlocking operation mechanism is greatly reduced and the structure is simplified, and the durability for use is improved.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the releasing operation of the locking lock portion 12a with respect to the signal transmission medium (FPC, FFC, etc.) F takes a lever shape with the elastic displacement of the folded portion 12b1 provided in the lock arm portion 12e. As a result, the amount of movement of the unlocking operation portion 12e is reduced as compared with the case where only the locking lock portion 12a is moved. As a result, the overall height of the electrical connector 10 is reduced. It becomes possible.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the operation force applied to the unlock operation portion 12e via the operation cover 11c is distributed to the plurality of release connection arm pieces 12e1 and 12e1, and the release operation force is locally applied. The possibility that the movement of the locking lock portion 12a becomes insufficient due to torsion of the lock arm member 12b due to the action of the locking arm member 12b is reduced. Further, since the operating force for the unlocking operation part 12e is indirectly applied through the operation cover 11c, the possibility that the entire lock arm member 12b including the unlocking operation part 12e is plastically deformed is reduced. The

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in each of the embodiments described above, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a flexible flat cable (FFC) are employed as a signal transmission medium fixed to the electrical connector. The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a medium for use is used.

  Furthermore, although the same shape of conductive contacts is used in the electrical connector according to the above-described embodiment, the present invention can be similarly applied to a structure in which conductive contacts of different shapes are alternately arranged. It is.

  The present invention can be widely applied to a wide variety of electrical connectors used in various electrical devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrical connector 11 Insulation housing 11a Medium insertion port 11b Component attachment port 11c Operation cover 11c1 Operation connection arm piece 12, 12 'Lock member 12a Locking lock part 12b Lock arm member 12b1 Folding part 12b2 Movable upper plate 12b3 Opening part 12c Fixed board 12c1 fixed claw 12d board connection part 12e unlocking operation part 12e1 release connecting arm piece 13 conductive contact 13a fixed base part 13b board connection part 13b flexible arm part 13c upper contact beam 13c1 upper terminal contact convex part 13d lower contact beam 13d1 lower terminal Contact convex part F Signal transmission medium (FPC or FFC, etc.)
Fa engagement positioning part Fb wiring pattern

Claims (4)

The board connecting portion is soldered to the wiring board and configured to be mounted on the wiring board,
A locking lock portion that engages with a terminal portion of the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing and holds the signal transmission medium in a substantially immovable state is attached to a lock arm member provided so as to be elastically displaceable. And
In the electrical connector configured to release the engagement state of the locking lock part by operation of the unlocking operation part,
The lock arm member extends in a cantilevered manner from the board connecting portion, and
The locking lock portion is integrally provided at a free end position in the extending direction of the lock arm member,
In the middle of the lock arm member in the extending direction to the locking lock portion, there are a fixed substrate fixed to the insulating housing, and a bent portion extending from the fixed substrate to the side U shape. and some folded portion, is provided between the fixed substrate and the latching lock portion, while the insertion space of the signal transmission medium is formed,
The unlocking operation part is integrally provided so as to branch out and extend from an intermediate position in the lock arm member , and the unlocking operation part and the locking lock part are mutually connected to the turn-up part. An electrical connector, wherein the electrical connector is disposed in a region on the opposite side .   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the unlocking operation unit is provided so as to branch from the lock arm member over a plurality of bodies.   The operation cover which covers the said unlocking operation part from the outer side so that it can contact | abut to the said unlocking operation part is integrally provided in the said insulation housing. Electrical connector.   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock arm member is provided with an opening portion through which the signal transmission medium inserted into the insulating housing is visible.

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