JPH05145228A - Method of connecting flexible circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid a 180 deg. bend of a flexible circuit and thus prevent excessive stresses in it by using a flexible connector for connection between flexible circuits. CONSTITUTION:A flexible connector 9 is used to connect flexible printed circuits 4 and 8. The connector is opposed to its counter part of a flexible circuit. The terminal portion of a first printed circuit 4 connected with the connector is moved together with the corresponding terminal portion of a second printed circuit 8 and both are connected. These printed circuits can have a shorter extension. In addition, the printed circuit does not have to be bent 180 deg. near the connector, so it is possible to prevent excessive stresses at the bend.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for connecting a flexible printed circuit board, and more particularly to a method for connecting a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards using a flexible printed circuit board connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for connecting a flexible printed circuit board, a connection provided at both ends of the flexible printed circuit board to which an extension for allowing the flexible printed circuit board to be drawn out from the housing is provided The applicant of the present application has proposed a method of soldering the pattern portion and then folding the lead-out portion into the housing for storage.

FIG. 8 shows a conventional example in which a flexible printed circuit board connector is used for a connecting portion.

In this conventional example, it is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a lens barrel having a flexible printed circuit board, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an intermediate state of its assembly and connection.

Reference numeral 1 is a lens optical axis, 2 is a fixed cylinder, 2a is the same flange portion, 2b is an inner cylinder portion, and 2c is a hole portion.

A flexible printed circuit board mounting base plate 3 is fixed to the flange part 2a with screws (not shown) at the mounting foot parts 3a, and has a surface parallel to the optical axis as a polygonal surface around a plurality of optical axes. Is.

[0007] 4 is a first flexible printed circuit board,
It is fixed in a polygonal shape around the optical axis along the plane of the mounting base plate with double-sided adhesive tape or the like.

Mount 7 with back cover 5 and electrical contacts 6 fixed
Is a second flexible print that is detachably fixed to the fixed cylinder 2 and extends through the extending portion 4a connecting the first flexible printed circuit board 4 to the electrical contact 6 and the hole 2c of the fixed cylinder 2. Drawer 4 that connects to substrate 8
b is formed so that it can be pulled out from the mount opening.

A flexible printed board connector 9 having an insertion port oriented in the extending direction is mounted on the tip of the extending portion 4a of the first flexible printed board 4, and the mounting base plate 3 is attached.
An electronic component group 10 is mounted on the flat surface portion fixed to.

The first flexible printed board 4 and the second
As shown in FIG. 9, the flexible printed circuit board 8 of FIG. 9 is such that the extending portion 4a and the drawer portion 8a are pulled out from the fixed cylinder 2, and the connection terminal 8b having the insertion terminal portion at the tip of the drawer portion 8a is inserted into the flexible printed board connector 9. After performing the connection work, fold it approximately 180 ° in the optical axis direction,
The mount 7 is fixed to the fixed barrel 2 while the 180 ° bent portion 8c is also formed and stored near the connection terminal 8b, and then the extended portion 4a is folded and stored in an S shape. In the figure, arrows and broken lines indicate the direction of built-in operation.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show another conventional example,
The position of the flexible printed circuit board connector 9 of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is moved to the opposite surface of the first flexible printed circuit board 4, and the configuration is exactly the same except for the flexible printed circuit board.

The flexible printed circuit board 4 is
In this case, it is a double-sided flexible printed circuit board.

[0013]

However, in the conventional example previously proposed by the applicant of the present invention, since the connection is made by soldering, the work time is relatively long, and the disassembly workability at the time of service and inspection is poor. There was a problem.

Further, in the second and third prior arts, in which the flexible printed circuit board connector, which has been miniaturized in recent years and realized high reliability and low price, is replaced with the connecting means, the flexible printed circuit board connector is used. Since the connecting means basically requires an operation of inserting the flexible printed circuit board, a slack margin is required for the flexible printed circuit board, and there is a problem that the drawn-out portion of the flexible printed circuit board is likely to be formed longer than the conventional example.

Further, there is a problem that a 180 ° bent portion 8c is newly formed in the flexible printed circuit board when folded and stored after connection, which causes unnecessary stress and reduces connection reliability.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems. That is, according to the present invention, disassembly workability at the time of service and inspection is improved, the length of the flexible printed circuit board extension portion can be shortened, and the cost can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of connecting a flexible printed circuit board, which can eliminate the bending portion and prevent unnecessary stress from being generated by the bending portion to improve the connection reliability.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a device having an electronic circuit in which a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards are connected by a flexible printed circuit board connector, and the flexible printed circuit board connection. Part of the first flexible printed circuit board, the connecting end part on which the flexible printed circuit board connector is mounted and the connecting end part of the second flexible printed circuit board having a terminal part to be inserted into the connector are extended from the opening of the device housing. In a connection method in which the flexible printed circuit board connector is formed so that it can be drawn out to the outside, the connection work is performed at the extraction part, and after the connection is completed, the connection part is folded and stored in a housing, the insertion port of the flexible printed circuit board connector and its connection partner The directions of the insertion end portions of the flexible printed circuit board extending directions are opposite to each other, The connection end of the first flexible printed circuit board on which the flexible printed circuit board connector is mounted and the connection end of the second flexible printed circuit board having the plug-in terminal portion overlap and translate at least in the vicinity of the connection portion, and then are plugged in. To be done.

[0018]

According to the present invention, a flexible printed circuit board connector is used for connection between flexible printed circuit boards, and the direction of the insertion port of the connector and the insertion terminal portion to be connected to the flexible printed circuit board are opposite to each other. The connecting end of the first flexible printed board on which the flexible printed board connector is mounted and the connecting end of the second flexible printed board having the plug-in terminal portion are overlapped at least in the vicinity of the connecting portion and translated, Since it is designed to be plugged in, disassembly work during service and inspection is improved, the length of the flexible printed circuit board extension can be shortened, and 180 ° near the connector can be achieved.
It is possible to eliminate the bent portion and prevent unnecessary stress from being generated by the bent portion.

[0019]

1 is a sectional view of a lens barrel according to a first embodiment of the method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an intermediate state of its assembly and connection.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the above embodiment as seen from the direction of the optical axis, showing the arrangement of the mounting base plate 3 and the first flexible printed circuit board 4 having a polygonal shape inside with the mount portion removed. ..

FIG. 4 is a development view of the first flexible printed circuit board 4 of the above embodiment in a state where the electronic component group 10, the electrical contacts 6 and the flexible printed circuit board connector 9 are mounted and arranged.

Reference numeral 9a denotes a connection terminal insertion portion of the flexible printed board connector, and an electronic component group 10 is arranged in a hatched portion of the first flexible printed board 4.

In FIG. 2, the second flexible printed circuit board 8 penetrates through the hole 2c and is exposed to the outside from the mount opening.
Of the drawing portion 8a, the connecting terminal 8b, and the extension portion 4a of the first flexible printed circuit board 4
With respect to the flexible printed circuit board connector 9 whose insertion port is oriented in the direction opposite to the extension direction of the front end portion of b, the connection terminal 8b is connected to the first flexible printed circuit board 4 as indicated by arrow 11.
Of the second flexible printed circuit board 8 is folded by approximately 180 ° with the slack portion 12 of the second flexible printed circuit board 8 as the outer periphery, hooked to the inner cylindrical portion 2b and temporarily fixed, and then, similarly to the conventional example. Mount the mount and complete storage.

The length of the extension portion 4a of the first flexible printed board 4 may be substantially the same as that of the conventional example, and the extension portion 8a of the second flexible printed board 8 is 18 in length.
Since the 0 ° bent portion 8c (see FIG. 8) is unnecessary, the connection terminal 8
About twice the length of b, the length is shorter than that of the conventional example.

Further, in this embodiment, the connector mounting surface of the first flexible printed circuit board 4 is folded toward the outer peripheral side when housed, and the second flexible printed circuit board 8 is moved to the first side.
8 to 11 in which the flexible printed circuit board 4 is housed in such a manner that the flexible printed circuit board 4 is housed in an overlapping manner so that the connector insertion port is covered by the second flexible printed circuit board 8 and is not visible when housed. In contrast to the conventional example, the visual confirmation is always possible from the mount opening.

Even when the storage is performed by folding toward the outer circumference, the same structure as the present invention can be obtained by reversing the overlapping of the translational portions of the drawer portions of the first and second flexible printed circuit boards. Obviously, the constant connection can be made visible in the same way.

5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 5 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a lens barrel in which the light flux in the vicinity of the mount is not relatively thick, and is substantially donut-shaped in the fixed barrel 2 having the flange portion 2a wider than that in the first embodiment. The case where the first flexible printed circuit board 4 is arranged is shown.

Both the pull-out portion 4b of the first flexible printed circuit board 4 and the pull-out portion 8a of the second flexible printed circuit board 8 are pulled out to the outside, the ends are translationally inserted, and then folded and stored in the housing. Including the above, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the arrangement and shape of the first flexible printed circuit board are different. FIG. 6 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 viewed from the mount side optical axis direction.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the method of the present invention, in which the hole 2c of the fixed cylinder 2 from which the second flexible printed circuit board 8 is pulled out is the first flexible in the second embodiment. A modified example is shown in which the phase around the drawing portion 4b of the printed board 4 and the lens optical axis 1 is deviated by θ.

In the third embodiment, the second flexible printed circuit board 8 has the connecting terminal 8b which is translated through the arcuate portion 8d for phase matching and the lead-out portion 4b of the first flexible printed circuit board 4, and then the flexible printed circuit board. It is inserted and connected to the board connector 9 and is folded and stored.

The circular arc portion 8d for phase matching is the first
The second flexible printed circuit board 8 has the same effect even when it is extended straight from the hole 2c while being applied to the flexible printed circuit board 4 side.

The first flexible printed circuit board 4 is a so-called inside-out-folding type in which the drawer portion is folded and stored from the outside to the inside, but the folding direction is a design matter, and the gist of the present invention. If the second flexible printed circuit board 8 in the above-described first to third embodiments is constructed, the second flexible printed circuit board 8 can be arbitrarily deformed and applied, that is, if it is configured to be inserted after being translated near the connector insertion port. The so-called, which is pulled out in the opposite direction (close to the optical axis),
The inward / outer folding type is also included in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A flexible printed circuit board connector is used for connection between flexible printed circuit boards, and the flexible printed circuit board connector is mounted by making the insertion port of the connector and the insertion terminal portion of the connection partner opposite to the extending direction of the flexible printed circuit board. Since the connection terminal of the first flexible printed circuit board and the connection end portion of the second flexible printed circuit board having the plug-in terminal portion are overlapped and translated at least in the vicinity of the connection portion, and are connected by insertion. It has the following effects.

First, the disassembly and workability during service and inspection are improved. Secondly, the length of the flexible printed circuit board extending portion can be shortened, and the cost can be reduced. Thirdly, it is possible to eliminate the 180 ° bent portion in the vicinity of the connector, prevent the occurrence of unnecessary stress due to the bent portion, and improve the connection reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a lens barrel according to a first embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an intermediate state of assembling and connecting the lens barrel of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the lens barrel of FIG. 1 viewed from the optical axis direction.

FIG. 4 is a development view of the first flexible printed circuit board of FIG. 1 in a state where electronic component groups and the like are mounted and arranged.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lens barrel according to a second embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the lens barrel of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a lens barrel according to a third embodiment of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an example lens barrel according to the related art.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing an intermediate state of assembling and connecting the lens barrel of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another example lens barrel according to the related art.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the lens barrel of FIG. 10 is being assembled and connected.

12 is a partial plan view showing a connection state of the flexible printed circuit board connector of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lens optical axis 2 ... Fixed cylinder 3 ... Flexible printed circuit board mounting base plate 4 ... 1st flexible printed circuit board 4a ... Extension part 4b ... Draw-out part 5 ... Back cover 6 ... Electrical contact 7 ... Mount 8 ... Second flexible print Substrate 8a ... Lead-out portion 8b ... Connection terminal 9 ... Flexible printed circuit board connector 10 ... Electronic component group

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device having an electronic circuit in which a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards are connected by a flexible printed circuit board connector, and the flexible printed circuit board connector of the first flexible printed circuit board which is the flexible printed circuit board connecting portion is mounted. The connecting end portion of the second flexible printed circuit board having the connected connecting end portion and the terminal portion to be inserted into the connector is extended to be formed so as to be drawn out from the opening of the device housing to the outside, and the connecting portion is used for connection work. After the connection is completed, in the connection method in which the connection portion is folded and housed in the housing, the insertion port of the flexible printed circuit board connector and the direction of the insertion end of the connection partner to each flexible printed circuit board extension direction are set. The first frame with the flexible printed circuit board connectors mounted in opposite directions. The flexible printed circuit board is characterized in that the connection end portion of the flexible printed circuit board and the connection end portion of the second flexible printed circuit board having the plug-in terminal portion are overlapped and translated at least in the vicinity of the connection portion, and then plugged in. Connection method. 2. A flexible printed circuit board connection according to claim 1, wherein the device having an electronic circuit has a lens barrel, and the first flexible printed circuit board is arranged in an outer peripheral space of the lens optical axis. Method. 3. The method for connecting a flexible printed circuit board according to claim 2, wherein the opening provided in the lens barrel is formed so as to be open in the optical axis direction and is closed by another member when the device is used.