JP6057375B2 - Connector for flat circuit body - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flat circuit body connector in which a circuit body end of a flat circuit body is locked in a connector main body by a locking member.

  Conventionally, when a flat circuit body such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC: Flexible Printed Circuit) or a flexible flat cable is connected by a connector, a flat circuit body connector is used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a flat circuit in which a circuit end portion of a flat circuit body is connected to the flat circuit body by being inserted into the connector main body portion, and the circuit end portion is locked in the connector main body portion by a locking member. A body connector is described.

JP 2012-84501 A

  However, in the flat circuit body connector described in Patent Document 1, the connector main body portion and the locking member are configured separately, and when the flat circuit body is connected to the flat circuit body connector, the flat circuit body is Since the locking member has to be attached to the connector main body after being inserted into the connector main body, there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above, Comprising: It aims at providing the connector for flat circuit bodies which can make the connection operation | work of a flat circuit body easy.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the flat circuit body connector according to claim 1 of the present invention is such that the end of the circuit body, which is the end of the flat circuit body, is inserted into the connector body. In the connector for a flat circuit body, which is connected to the flat circuit body by the locking member, and the circuit body end portion is locked in the connector main body portion by the locking member, the connector main body portion is connected to the connector main body portion. In the assembled state, it has a guide portion including a guide surface that guides the movement of the locking member from when the end of the circuit body is inserted into the connector main body until it is locked into the connector main body. The locking member is biased by using an elastic force to the guide surface to receive a force that moves downward to lock the circuit body end from above. And a sliding contact surface on which the end of the circuit body is slidably contacted to move the locking member upward to a position where the end of the circuit body can be inserted while being guided by the guide surface. And when the circuit body end is inserted into the connector main body, the guided portion receives the force of moving downward to lock the circuit body end from above, thereby After the member is moved to the upper insertable position, the member is automatically moved downward so as to lock the circuit body end.

  In the flat circuit body connector according to claim 2 of the present invention, in the above invention, the guide surface has a first guide surface and a second guide surface extending in the vertical direction with the locking member interposed therebetween. The first guide surface is formed with a first guide inclined surface inclined upward from below in the vertical direction, and the second guide surface extends in the vertical direction from below to above. On the other hand, a second guide inclined surface is formed in an upward inclined shape, and the guided portion is provided so as to be elastically bent and deformable with a free end side toward the inside of the locking member, and the first It has a pair of elastic arm part urged | biased by each of a guide inclined surface and said 2nd guide inclined surface.

  In the flat circuit body connector according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above invention, the guide surface is formed such that the first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface do not overlap in the vertical direction. In this way, the first guide inclined surface is divided into two parts, an upper region and a lower region, and the first guide inclined surface is compared with the case where the first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface overlap in the vertical direction. And it is adjusted so that the inclination-angle of said 2nd guide inclined surface may become large.

  In the flat circuit body connector according to claim 4 of the present invention, in the above invention, the locking member has a rectangular cross-sectional outer shape with the width direction of the end of the circuit body as the longitudinal direction. It has a pair of said to-be-guided part each provided in the both ends, The said connector main-body part has a pair of guide part corresponding to a pair of said to-be-guided part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The flat circuit body connector according to claim 5 of the present invention is the flat circuit body connector according to the above invention, wherein the sliding contact surface is fitted into a locking hole formed at an end of the circuit body. It is formed in the latching protrusion part protrudingly provided by the lower surface of the said latching member so that it may latch.

  In the flat circuit body connector according to claim 1 of the present invention, when the circuit body end is locked in the connector main body by the locking member, the locking in a state of being assembled in the connector main body. Since the member is automatically moved downward so as to lock the circuit body end after being moved to the insertable position of the circuit body end, the flat circuit body is moved to the connector body. After the insertion into the part, it is not necessary to attach the locking member to the connector body part, and as a result, the connection work of the flat circuit body can be facilitated.

  The flat circuit body connector according to claim 2 of the present invention is configured to lock the circuit body end portion with a simple configuration of the first guide inclined surface, the second guide inclined surface, and the elastic arm portion. A force for automatically moving the locking member downward can be obtained.

  In the flat circuit body connector according to claim 3 of the present invention, since the inclination angle of the first guide inclined surface and the inclination angle of the second guide inclined surface can be increased, the elastic arm portion and the first Even when the frictional resistance between the one guide inclined surface or the second guide inclined surface is large, until the circuit body end is locked after the circuit body end is moved to the insertable position. Since the locking member can be automatically moved downward, the flat circuit body can be reliably locked by the locking member.

  A flat circuit body connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a pair of the guided portions provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the locking member, and a pair provided corresponding to the pair of guided portions. Since the locking member is guided to be moved downward by the guide portion, the locking member can be stably moved.

  Since the flat circuit body connector according to the fifth aspect of the present invention can provide the sliding contact surface by using the locking projection, it can have a simple configuration.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat circuit body connector according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the flat circuit body connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the flat circuit body connector of FIG. 4A is a top view of the flat circuit body connector in the middle of connection of the flat circuit body, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 4A. 5A is a perspective view of the connector main body, and FIG. 5B is a top view of the connector main body. 6A is a sectional view taken along line DD of the connector body shown in FIG. 5B, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line EE of the connector body shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking member shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a view showing the operation of the locking member from when the flat circuit body is inserted into the connector main body until it is locked into the connector main body. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the locking member when the locking by the locking member is released and the flat circuit body is removed from the connector main body. FIG. 10 is a top view of the flat circuit body connector according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the flat circuit body connector shown in FIG. 10 taken along the line GG. FIG. 12 is a top view of the connector main body. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH of the connector main body shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a graph in which the inclination angle θ, the friction coefficient μ, and the force F applied to the elastic arm portion are represented on orthogonal axes. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the force acting on the elastic arm portion as a vector. FIG. 15A shows a case where the inclination angle θ of the guide surface is small, and FIG. 15B shows a case where the inclination angle θ of the guide surface is large. Is shown. FIG. 16 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the movement distance R of the locking member, and the vertical axis represents the force F applied to the elastic arm portion. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the locking member from when the flat circuit body is inserted into the connector main body until it is locked into the connector main body.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a connector for a flat circuit body according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat circuit body connector 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the flat circuit body connector 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the flat circuit body connector 1 of FIG. 4A is a top view of the flat circuit body connector 1 in the middle of connection of the flat circuit body 50, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 4A. 5A is a perspective view of the connector main body 10, and FIG. 5B is a top view of the connector main body 10. 6A is a sectional view taken along the line DD of the connector body 10 shown in FIG. 5B, and FIG. 6B is an EE view of the connector body 10 shown in FIG. 5B. It is line sectional drawing. FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking member 20 shown in FIG.
In the embodiments of the present invention, for convenience of explanation, front and rear, left and right, and up and down directions are defined as shown in the figure.
In the flat circuit body connector 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a circuit body end portion 52 which is an end portion of a flat circuit body 50 such as a flexible printed wiring board or a flexible flat cable is inserted into the connector main body portion 10. Accordingly, the circuit body end 52 is locked in the connector main body 10 by the locking member 20 while being connected to the flat circuit body 50.
The flat circuit body connector 1 includes a connector main body 10 in which a terminal to be connected to a terminal (not shown) of the flat circuit body 50 is incorporated, and a locking member 20. It is fixed to a substrate (not shown) or the like.

First, a known flat circuit body 50 will be described.
In the first embodiment, the flat circuit body 50 uses a flexible printed wiring board.
The flat circuit body 50 has a circuit wiring (not shown) in which a conductive metal film is patterned, and a flat flexible body in which both sides of the circuit wiring (not shown) are covered with an insulating thin film 51. It is a circuit board.
A plurality of terminals (not shown) are formed side by side on the circuit body end portion 52 which is an end portion of the flat circuit body 50, and a part of the insulating thin film 51 is removed so that a connection surface of each terminal (not shown) is provided. By being exposed, each terminal (not shown) is connected to each terminal 40 of the flat circuit body connector 1.
The circuit body end portion 52 is reinforced by attaching a reinforcing plate 53 to the back surface of the surface on which the plurality of terminals (not shown) are exposed.
Furthermore, the circuit body end portion 52 is formed with locking holes 54 and 54 that are locked to a pair of locking projections 24 and 24 described later of the locking member 20 on both sides.

Next, the flat circuit body connector 1 will be described.
First, the connector body 10 will be described.
The connector main body 10 has a rectangular outer wall 11 that forms a bottom surface, side walls 12 and 12 that are erected on both left and right ends of the bottom wall 11, and a rear end of the bottom wall 11. It has a rear wall 13, the front end surface side is an insertion port for the circuit body end portion 52, and the upper surface is an opening that can receive the locking member 20 in a locking member housing portion 14 described later.
A plurality of terminals 40 are locked to the bottom surface of the connector body 10 so that a plurality of terminals 40 are connected to a terminal (not shown) of the flat circuit body 50, and the circuit body end 52 is a locking member. A locking member accommodating portion 14 in which the locking member 20 is accommodated is provided at a position where the locking member 20 is accommodated.

  The locking member accommodating portion 14 is a pair of guide portions provided on the left and right side walls corresponding to a pair of guided portions 21, 21 described later of the locking member 20 so as to guide the movement of the locking member 20. 15, 15, a locking member 20 assembled in the locking member housing portion 14, and a locking member 17 that prevents the locking member 20 from being detached from the locking member housing portion 14. And an installation position restricting portion 18 for restricting the installation position in the member accommodating portion 14.

  Each guide portion 15 has a circuit body end portion 52 inserted into the connector main body portion 10 in a state where the locking member 20 is assembled in the connector main body portion 10 by being accommodated in the locking member accommodating portion 14. The guide surface 16 that guides the movement of the locking member 20 until it is locked in the connector main body 10 is included.

The guide surface 16 has a first guide surface 16a and a second guide surface 16b extending in the vertical direction with the locking member 20 therebetween.
As for the 1st guide surface 16a, the 1st guide inclined surface 16aa is formed in the up-slope shape with respect to the perpendicular direction toward the upper direction from the downward direction.
The second guide surface 16b is formed with a second guide inclined surface 16bb that is inclined upward with respect to the vertical direction from below to above.
The first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb are provided so that the formation regions overlap in the vertical direction, and each elastic arm portion 22 of the guided portion 21 described later is biased. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the slip-off prevention locking portion 17 is a wall formed so that the upper part of the side wall 12 protrudes inward. A locking prevention protrusion 25 (described later) of the locking member 20 is abutted against the lower surface of the locking prevention portion 17 so that the locking member 20 is moved from the upper opening of the locking member storage portion 14 to the outside of the locking member storage portion 14. It is designed to prevent escape.

The installation position restricting portion 18 is a wall protruding in a plate shape from the rear wall 13 toward the front in the locking member accommodating portion 14, and the lower surface of the locking member 20 is abutted against the upper surface, thereby locking The installation position of the member 20 in the locking member accommodating portion 14 is regulated.
A circuit body guiding surface 18a is formed at the front end portion of the lower surface of the installation position restricting portion 18 so as to be gradually reduced toward the front. By this circuit body guide surface 18a, the circuit body end portion 52 is guided to the connection position with the terminal 40 while being slidably contacted.

Next, the locking member 20 will be described.
The locking member 20 is biased by using the elastic force to the guide surface 16 to lock the circuit body end portion 52 from above, so that a pair of guided portions 21 that receive a downward movement force, 21, a sliding contact surface 23 on which the circuit body end 52 is slidably contacted to move the locking member 20 upward to the insertion position P of the circuit body end 52, and both sides of the circuit body end 52. A pair of locking projections 24 and 24 that lock the flat circuit body 50 by being fitted into the respective locking holes 54 and a locking member 20 to prevent the locking member 20 from being detached from the connector main body 10. And a pair of removal prevention protrusions 25 that are locked by the prevention locking portion 17.

Each guided portion 21 is provided so that its free end side can be elastically bent and deformed toward the inside of the locking member 20, and is attached to each of the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb. It has a pair of elastic arm portions 22 and 22 to be biased.
Each elastic arm portion 22 is provided with an urging protrusion 22 a that protrudes toward the outside of the locking member 20 at the tip portion.
The biasing protrusion 22a is biased by the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface 16bb, so that the bending load of the elastic arm portion 22 is applied to the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface 16bb. It has come to be.

  The sliding contact surface 23 is a circuit for moving the locking member 20 upward to the insertion position P of the circuit body end 52 while being guided by the corresponding guide surfaces 16, 16 corresponding to the pair of guided portions 21, 21. This is the surface with which the body end 52 is slidably contacted. The slidable contact surface 23 is formed on the front surface of each locking projection 24 so as to be inclined upward from the lower end.

Each locking projection 24 is a portion protruding from the position of the lower surface of the locking member 20 corresponding to the position of each locking hole 54 of the flat circuit body 50.
The rear end surface of each locking projection 24 is formed to extend in the vertical direction. For this reason, the rear end surface of each locking projection 24 has an inner edge of the locking hole 54 when the flat circuit body 50 locked by the locking projection 24 is pulled in the direction opposite to the insertion direction. It abuts on the surface and functions as the locking surface 24a.

Next, the operation of the locking member 20 from when the flat circuit body 50 is inserted into the connector main body 10 until it is locked into the connector main body 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a view showing the operation of the locking member 20 from when the flat circuit body 50 is inserted into the connector main body 10 until it is locked into the connector main body 10.
The right side of FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the flat circuit body 50 and the flat circuit body connector 1 and is shown in the right view (FIG. 8 (a), FIG. 8 (b)) side by side. The upper figure (FIG. 8 (a-1), FIG. 8 (b-1)) is the sectional view on the AA line of the connector 1 for flat circuit bodies of FIG. 3, The lower figure (FIG. 8 (a-2)) 8 (b-2)) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of the flat circuit body connector 1 of FIG.

First, when the operator starts insertion of the flat circuit body 50 into the connector main body portion 10, the circuit body end portion 52 is brought into sliding contact with the sliding contact surface 23 of the locking member 20, whereby each guided portion 21 is moved. While being guided by each guide portion 15, the locking member 20 is moved upward to a position where the circuit body end portion 52 can be inserted.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 8 (a1), the locking member 20 moves upward the load received by the sliding contact surface 23 of the circuit body end 52 to the sliding contact surface 23 by the guide portion 15. It is received as a force to move and moved upward. Here, as shown in FIG. 8 (a2), the guided portion 21 is formed by the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide when the pair of elastic arm portions 22 and 22 of each guided portion 21 are bent inward. The guide inclined surface 16bb is biased using an elastic force. For this reason, although the locking member 20 receives a force that moves downward, the locking member 20 has a force that moves higher than the downward moving force due to, for example, the force for inserting the operator's flat circuit body. 20 is loaded.

  Thereafter, when the circuit body end portion 52 is inserted to the connection completion position in the connector main body portion 10, the locking member 20 is moved to the upper insertable position and then the circuit body end portion 52 is locked downward. As shown in FIG. 8 (b 1), the flat circuit body 50 is locked in the connector main body 10 by being fitted in the locking holes 54.

Next, the operation of the locking member 20 when the locking by the locking member 20 is released and the flat circuit body 50 is removed from the connector main body 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a view showing the operation of the locking member when the locking by the locking member 20 is released and the flat circuit body 50 is removed from the connector main body 10.
9 is a perspective view of the flat circuit body and the connector for the flat circuit body. Of the two diagrams shown side by side in the right figure (FIG. 9 (a), FIG. 9 (b)). The upper drawing (FIGS. 9A-1 and 9B-1) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the flat circuit body connector of FIG. 3, and the lower drawing (FIGS. 9A-2, 9A and 9B). (B-2)) is a cross-sectional view of the flat circuit body connector of FIG. 3 taken along line BB.

  First, when the locking member 20 is lifted upward by the operator, as shown in FIG. 9 (a1), each locking projection 24 is released from each locking hole, and the locking is released. Even in this state, since the locking member 20 receives a force that moves downward through the guided portion 21, when the operator releases the locking member 20, the locking member 20 automatically moves downward. It has been moved.

  Thereafter, with the locking member 20 lifted upward, the flat circuit body 50 is pulled out from the connector body 10 and then the locking member 20 is released from the hand. As shown in FIG. 9 (b2), it is moved downward and returned to the predetermined position where the flat circuit body 50 is locked.

  In the flat circuit body connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the circuit body end 52 is locked in the connector main body 10 by the locking member 20, the flat circuit body connector 1 is assembled in the connector main body 10. Since the stopping member 20 is automatically moved downward so as to lock the circuit body end 52 after being moved to the insertion position P of the circuit body end 52, the flat circuit body 50 is After the insertion into the connector main body 10, it is not necessary to attach the locking member 20 to the connector main body 10, and as a result, the connection work of the flat circuit body 50 can be facilitated.

  Moreover, the connector 1 for flat circuit bodies which concerns on the Example of this invention latches the circuit body edge part 52 by simple structure of the 1st guide inclined surface 16aa, the 2nd guide inclined surface 16bb, and the elastic arm part 22. FIG. Thus, a force for automatically moving the locking member 20 downward can be obtained.

  Further, the flat circuit body connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention corresponds to a pair of guided portions 21 and 21 provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the locking member 20 and a pair of guided portions 21 and 21. Since the locking member 20 is guided by the pair of guide portions 15 provided so as to be moved downward, the locking member 20 can be stably moved.

  Moreover, since the flat circuit body connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be provided with the slidable contact surface 23 using the locking projection 24, it can have a simple configuration.

Next, a flat circuit body connector 2 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 10 is a top view of the flat circuit body connector 2 according to the second embodiment of the invention. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG of the flat circuit body connector 2 shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a top view of the connector main body 30. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the connector main body 30 shown in FIG.
The flat circuit body connector 2 of Modification 2 has a connector main body 30 instead of the connector main body 10, and the first guide inclined surface 36aa and the second guide inclined surface 36bb of the connector main body 30 are vertically arranged. The flat circuit body connector 1 of the embodiment differs from the flat circuit body connector 1 in that the formation region is provided in two stages of an upper region and a lower region so that the formation regions do not overlap.
Other configurations are the same as those in the embodiment, and the same components as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  Each guide portion 35 of the connector main body 30 is assembled with the connector main body 10 when the locking member 20 is received in the locking member receiving portion 14, and the circuit body end 52 is connected to the connector main body 30. It includes a guide surface 36 that guides the movement of the locking member 20 from being inserted into the connector main body 30 until being locked into the connector main body 30.

The guide surface 36 has a first guide surface 36a and a second guide surface 36b extending in the vertical direction with the locking member 20 therebetween.
The first guide surface 36 a is formed with a first guide inclined surface 36 aa that is inclined upward with respect to the vertical direction from below to above.
The second guide surface 36b is formed with a second guide inclined surface 36bb that is inclined upward with respect to the vertical direction from below to above.

The first guide inclined surface 36aa and the second guide inclined surface 36bb are provided in two stages of an upper area and a lower area so that the formation areas do not overlap in the vertical direction.
More specifically, the first guide surface 36a is a first guide inclined surface 36aa and a first guide inclined surface from the upper side to the lower side in the vertical range in which the elastic arm portion 22 is moved while being slidably contacted. A first vertical surface 36c connected to the lower end of 36aa is formed. On the other hand, the second guide surface 36b is connected to the second vertical surface 36d and the lower end of the second vertical surface 36d from the upper side to the lower side in a vertical range in which the elastic arm portion 22 is moved while being in sliding contact. A two-guide inclined surface 36bb is formed.
That is, the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second vertical surface 36d are in the vertical direction in the vertical range of the first guide surface 36a and the second guide surface 36b that are moved while the elastic arm portion 22 is in sliding contact. The formation regions are provided so as to overlap each other, and the second guide inclined surface 16bb and the first vertical surface 36c are provided so that the formation regions overlap in the vertical direction.

Here, the force applied to the locking member 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 14 is a graph in which the inclination angle θ, the friction coefficient μ, and the force F applied to the elastic arm portion 22 are represented on orthogonal axes. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the force acting on the elastic arm portion 22 as a vector, where (a) shows the case where the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 36 is small, and (b) shows the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 36. Shows a large case.
FIG. 16 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the movement distance R of the locking member 20 and the vertical axis represents the force F applied to the elastic arm portion 22.
In FIG. 16, a broken line indicates a force applied to the elastic arm portion 22 by the guide surface 36 in the upper region, and a two-dot chain line indicates a force applied to the elastic arm portion 22 by the guide surface 36 in the lower region. The solid line shows the total force applied to the elastic arm portion 22 by the guide surfaces 36 in the upper and lower regions.

The force acting on the elastic arm portion 22 is F acting on the elastic arm portion 22, W being the deflection load of the elastic arm portion 22, and the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface. The inclination angle of 16bb is θ, and the friction coefficient between the elastic arm portion 22 and the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface 16bb is μ, and is obtained by the following calculation formula.
F = W · tan (φ−θ) = W · ((μ−tan θ) / (1 + μ · tan θ))

As shown in FIG. 14, a minus sign force F indicated by a broken line is a state in which the locking member 20 automatically moves downward without applying a load from the outside by an operator. As can be seen from FIG. 14, when the inclination angle θ is large, the locking member 20 can be automatically moved downward even when the friction coefficient μ is large.
Therefore, even when a large frictional resistance is applied, in order for the locking member 20 to automatically move downward, it is preferable to increase the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 16 as shown in FIG. I understand.

  However, when the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb overlap in the vertical direction as in the flat circuit body connector 1 of the first embodiment, the first guide inclined surface When the inclination angle θ of one or both of 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb is increased, each elastic arm portion 22 is in contact with the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface 16bb in the vertical direction. The travel distance will be shortened.

Therefore, in the flat circuit body connector 2 according to the second embodiment, the upper region and the lower region so that the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb of the connector body 30 do not overlap in the vertical direction. Are provided in two stages.
In this case, even when the inclination angles θ of both the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb are increased, that is, the elastic arm portion 22 and the first guide inclined surface 16aa or the second guide inclined surface. Even when a large frictional force is applied to the surface 16bb, the force applied to the elastic arm portion 22 by the first guide inclined surface 16aa and the second guide inclined surface 16bb as shown in FIG. The locking member 20 can always automatically move downward within the range of the distance that the total force needs to move in the vertical direction of the locking member 20.

Next, the operation of the locking member 20 from when the flat circuit body 50 is inserted into the connector main body 30 until it is locked into the connector main body 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 17 is a view showing the operation of the locking member 20 from when the flat circuit body 50 is inserted into the connector main body 30 until it is locked into the connector main body 30.
The right side of FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the flat circuit body 50 and the flat circuit body connector 2, and is shown in the right view (FIGS. 17A and 17B). The upper figure (FIG. 17 (a-1), FIG. 17 (b-1)) is the FF sectional view taken on the line 2 of the flat circuit body connector 2 of FIG. 10, and the lower figure (FIG. 17 (a-2)) FIG. 17B-2 is a cross-sectional view of the flat circuit body connector 2 of FIG. 10 taken along the line GG.

First, when the operator starts insertion of the flat circuit body 50 into the connector main body 30, the circuit body end portion 52 is slidably contacted with the sliding contact surface 23 of the locking member 20, whereby the guided portion 21 is guided. While being guided by the surface 36, the locking member 20 is moved upward to a position where the circuit body end 52 can be inserted.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 17 (a1), the locking member 20 moves the load received by sliding the circuit body end portion 52 to the sliding contact surface 23 inclined by the guide portion 35 upward. Received as force and moved upward. Here, as shown in FIG. 17 (a2), the guided portion 21 utilizes an elastic force on the guide surface 36 when the pair of elastic arm portions 22 and 22 of each guided portion 21 bend inward. Is energized. For this reason, although the locking member 20 receives the force that moves downward, the force that moves upward larger than the force that moves downward is locked by, for example, the force of inserting the flat circuit body 50 of the operator. The member 20 is loaded.

  Thereafter, when the circuit body end portion 52 is inserted to the connection completion position in the connector main body portion 30, the locking member 20 is moved to the upper insertable position and then the circuit body end portion 52 is locked downward. As shown in FIG. 17 (b 1), the flat circuit body 50 is locked in the connector main body 10 by being fitted in the locking holes 54.

  As described above, when the locking member 20 is moved from the insertable position to the locking completion position, the locking member 20 is first provided with the first inclined guide surface 16a provided to have a large inclination angle in the upper region. The first elastic arm portion 22 is moved downward while being in sliding contact with the first elastic arm portion 22, and then the second elastic arm portion 22 is slid in contact with the second inclined guide surface 16 b provided to have a large inclination angle in the lower region. It is automatically moved downward.

  The flat circuit body connector 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same effects as the flat circuit body connector 1 according to the first embodiment, and the inclination angle of the first guide inclined surface 36aa and the second guide inclined surface. Since the inclination angle of 36bb can be increased, even if the frictional resistance between the elastic arm portion 22 and the first guide inclined surface 36aa or the second guide inclined surface 36bb is large, the circuit body end 52 Since the locking member 20 can be automatically moved downward until the circuit body end 52 is locked after being moved to the insertion position P, the flat circuit body 50 is securely locked by the locking member 20. can do.

  In addition, although the flat circuit body connectors 1 and 2 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention exemplify those having a pair of guide portions 15 and 35 and a pair of guided portions 21 and 21, The numbers of 35 and guided portions 21 are not limited to this. That is, if the locking member 20 is automatically moved downward so as to lock the circuit body end portion 52 after being moved to the upper insertable position P, the guide portions 15, 35, The guided portion 21 may be provided at one location.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the above-described embodiments of the invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments of the invention and does not depart from the gist thereof. Various changes can be made.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Connector for flat circuit bodies 10, 30 Connector main-body part 11 Bottom wall 12 Side wall 13 Rear wall 14 Locking member accommodating part 15, 35 Guide part 16, 36 Guide surface 16a, 36a First guide surface 16aa, 36aa 1st Guide inclined surface 16b, 36b Second guide surface 16bb, 36bb Second guide inclined surface 17 Disengagement prevention locking portion 18 Installation position restricting portion 18a Circuit body guide surface 20 Locking member 21 Guided portion 22 Elastic arm portion 22a Energizing protrusion 23 Sliding contact surface 24 Locking protrusion 24a Locking surface 25 Pull-out prevention protrusion 36c First vertical surface 36d Second vertical surface 40 Terminal 42 Fixing bracket 50 Flat circuit body 51 Insulating thin film 52 Circuit body edge 53 Reinforcement plate 54 Locking hole P Insertable position

Claims (5)

A flat circuit in which the end of the circuit body, which is the end of the flat circuit body, is connected to the flat circuit body by being inserted into the connector body, and the end of the circuit body is locked in the connector body by a locking member. In body connector,
The connector body is
In a state where the locking member is assembled to the connector body, the movement of the locking member is guided from when the circuit body end is inserted into the connector body until it is locked into the connector body. A guide portion including a guide surface;
The locking member is
A guided portion that receives a force that moves downward to lock the end of the circuit body from above by being biased to the guide surface using elastic force;
A sliding contact surface with which the end of the circuit body is slidably contacted to move the locking member upward to an insertable position of the end of the circuit body while the guided portion is guided by the guide surface;
Have
When the circuit body end is inserted into the connector main body, the guided member receives a force that moves downward to lock the circuit body end from above, so that the locking member moves upward. A flat circuit body connector, wherein the flat circuit body connector is automatically moved downward so as to lock the end of the circuit body after being moved to the insertable position. The guide surface is
Having a first guide surface and a second guide surface extending vertically with the locking member in between,
The first guide surface is
The first guide inclined surface is formed in an upward inclined shape with respect to the vertical direction from below to above,
The second guide surface is
The second guide inclined surface is formed in an upward inclined shape with respect to the vertical direction from below to above,
The guided portion is
A pair of elastic arms which are provided so that their free ends can be elastically bent and deformed toward the inside of the locking member, and are urged by the first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface, respectively. The flat circuit body connector according to claim 1, further comprising: a portion. The guide surface is
The first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface are provided in two stages of an upper region and a lower region so that the formation regions do not overlap in the vertical direction, the first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface 3. The tilt angle of the first guide inclined surface and the second guide inclined surface is adjusted to be larger than that when the formation region overlaps in the vertical direction of the guide inclined surface. The connector for flat circuit bodies described in 1. The locking member is
It has a cross-sectional outline rectangular shape with the width direction of the circuit body end portion as the longitudinal direction, and has a pair of guided portions respectively provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction,
The connector body is
The flat circuit body connector according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of guide portions corresponding to the pair of guided portions. The slidable contact surface is formed on a locking projection protruding from the lower surface of the locking member so as to lock the flat circuit body by being fitted into a locking hole formed at an end of the circuit body. The flat circuit body connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is a flat circuit body connector.

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