JPH08138808A - Connector for flexible printed wiring board - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a connector capable of being made thin and making the connector terminal and flexible printed wiring board conductor contact with each other surely. CONSTITUTION: A through hole 25 is formed between conductors 23 at an edge of a flexible printed wiring board 21, and the conductors 23 are exposed. The connector 31 is composed of a connector housing 32d, terminal 33 and a terminal guide cover 34. The cover 34 is inserted in a through hole 25 of the board 21 and a comblike guide 43 is provided to be pushed between the terminals 33 from the opening 35 of the housing is provided. The swelling part 43a of the guide 43 is fitted in and to the through hole 33e of the terminal 33 and notch or projection part. In this case a protrusion having a springlike characteristic is formed at the terminal and the protrusion may be brought into contact with the conductor 23 of the board 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin connector which is connected to a flexible printed wiring board (hereinafter abbreviated as "FPC").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In FPC, a metal foil such as copper is attached to one surface of an insulating sheet such as polyester and patterned by etching, and a resin film or the like is attached to the upper surface of the metal foil to insulate it as necessary. It is a thin tape-shaped substrate.

Since FPCs can be arranged with a narrow conductor pitch of, for example, about 2.54 mm, they have been widely used as cables for connecting substrates of various electronic devices. , A flexible flat cable (FFC). In the present invention, the FPC is meant to include the FFC.

To connect the FPC to the board, a connector is attached to the terminal of the FPC and the board is connected via the connector. In this case, the conductor is exposed at the terminal of the FPC, and the terminal of the FPC is inserted and connected to a connector having terminals that match the pitch of the conductor.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional connector connected to an FPC. The connector 11 has a plurality of terminals 13 housed in a housing 12 made of synthetic resin. The terminals 13 have a U-shaped cross section so as to sandwich the pin portion 13a extending to the outside of the housing 12 and the terminal of the FPC. When the terminal of the FPC is inserted from the opening 12a of the housing 12, the contact portion 13b of the corresponding terminal 13 comes into contact with each of the conductors of the FPC so that conduction is achieved. There is.

However, the conventional connector 11 described above is used.
When the terminal of the FPC is inserted into the contact portion 13b of the terminal 13, the contact portion 13b elastically clamps the terminal of the FPC so that good contact is made. I had to.

Since the FPC is a sheet-like thin substrate, it is expected that the electronic devices can be miniaturized by connecting the substrates with each other, but in reality,
The connector used for the connection is the FPC as described above.
Since it is much thicker than that of, it was a bottleneck for downsizing of electronic devices.

Therefore, in order to provide a thinner connector, the applicant of the present invention, as disclosed in JP-A-5-326082, has a plurality of terminals arranged and held so as to match the conductor pitch of the FPC. A sheet, a frame on which the contact sheet and the terminal of the FPC are placed in an overlapping state, and a lid body which is detachably covered so as to sandwich the contact sheet and the terminal of the FPC between the frame , A connector for an FPC, which is composed of a terminal of the contact sheet and a means for positioning the conductor of the FPC so that they are in contact with each other.

[0009]

However, in the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-326082, for example, a warp is provided on the cover plate so as to apply a pressing force to the contact sheet and the terminal of the FPC. However, it is difficult to apply a uniform pressing force over the entire width of the cover plate, and there is a possibility that contact failure between the terminal and the conductor of the FPC may occur in some areas, resulting in conduction failure.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an FPC connector which can be made thin and in which the terminals of the connector and the conductors of the FPC are surely brought into contact with each other.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, in a connector for FPC according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of thin film conductors are formed in parallel on one surface of an insulating sheet, and at least one of them is formed. A through-hole penetrating between the conductors is provided in the vicinity of the edge portion of the connector, and the connector is attached to an FPC in which the conductor is exposed at least at the portion, and an opening along the longitudinal direction is formed in the central portion. It is provided with a frame shape as a whole, and one surface is provided with a plurality of mounting grooves for mounting the terminals at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction, and the other surface is provided with an edge portion of the FPC. And a connector housing having a concave portion formed therein, and the connector housing is fitted and fitted in the mounting groove, and an intermediate portion is exposed by the opening. A plurality of terminals provided with through holes or notches penetrating in the direction, and through a through hole of the FPC arranged in the recess of the connector housing, and between the opening of the connector housing and each of the terminals. And a terminal guide cover having a plurality of comb tooth-shaped guides that are inserted into each of the side surfaces and have thick bulging portions and are fitted into the through holes or notches of the terminals.

Further, in the FPC connector according to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of thin film conductors are formed in parallel on one surface of the insulating sheet at a predetermined pitch, and at least one edge portion is provided between the conductors. A connector to be attached to an FPC having a through hole penetrating therethrough and at least a portion of which is exposed with a conductor, wherein an opening along the longitudinal direction is provided at a central portion to form a frame shape as a whole. Connector housing in which a plurality of mounting grooves for mounting terminals at predetermined intervals are provided along the longitudinal direction on one surface, and a concave portion on which the end edge portion of the flexible printed wiring board is placed is formed on the other surface. And is fitted into the mounting groove of the connector housing, the intermediate portion is exposed by the opening, and the intermediate portion projects toward the concave portion, and a through hole or A plurality of terminals provided with notches, springiness is imparted to the projecting portion, and further provided with a projecting portion projecting to the side surface, and the flexible printed wiring board arranged in the recessed portion of the connector housing. A plurality of comb teeth that pass through the through hole and are inserted between the terminals from the opening of the connector housing, and that have a thick bulge on the side surface and engage with the convex portion on the side surface of the terminal. A terminal guide cover having a shape guide.

[0013]

According to the connector of the present invention, the end of the FPC is placed in the recess of the connector housing with the conductor exposed surface of the end of the FPC facing the connector. Next, FP
The comb-teeth-shaped guide of the terminal guide cover is inserted into the through hole provided between the conductors of C and the comb-teeth-shaped guide is inserted further deeply between the terminals.

Then, the comb tooth-shaped guide is pressed and inserted like a wedge between the terminals, and the thickly bulged portion of the comb tooth-shaped guide is provided on the exposed portion of the terminal. It is fitted through a through hole or a notch (first invention), or is engaged and fixed to a convex portion provided on the side surface of the terminal (second invention).

As a result, the edge portion of the FPC is sandwiched and fixed between the terminal and the terminal guide cover. Further, since the comb-shaped guide is inserted between the conductors of the FPC and between the terminals of the connector, the conductors of the FPC and the terminals are accurately aligned.

Further, according to the first aspect of the invention, the thick and bulged portion of the comb-shaped guide is fitted into the through hole or notch provided in the exposed portion of the terminal to try to push up the terminal. The conductor of the FPC and the terminal are surely brought into contact with each other to establish conduction.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the thick and bulged portion of the comb tooth-shaped guide engages with the convex portion on the side surface of the terminal to push up the terminal, and the protruding portion at the intermediate portion of the terminal is Since it contacts the FPC conductor with a spring property,
The conductor and the terminal are more surely brought into contact with each other to establish conduction.

[0018]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of an FPC connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector and the FPC, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the FPC, and FIG. 3 is a part of the connector. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the connector, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the connector connected to an FPC.

First, an FPC suitable for connecting the connector of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG.
The PC 21 has a structure in which a conductor 23 in which a copper foil is patterned is formed on one surface of a synthetic resin sheet 22, and a synthetic resin film 24 is covered so as to sandwich the conductor 23 between the synthetic resin sheet 22 and the synthetic resin sheet 22.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a through hole 25 penetrating between the conductors 23 is formed in the vicinity of the edge of the FPC 21, and the synthetic resin film 24 is peeled off at that portion to remove the conductor 23. Is exposed. As an FPC,
It is also possible to use the one without the synthetic resin film 24, in which the conductor 23 is exposed on all surfaces.

Next, the connector of the present invention applied to this FPC 21 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 31 is a connector housing 32 made of synthetic resin.
And a plurality of terminals 33 made of metal having good conductivity, and a terminal guide cover 34 assembled to the connector housing 32.

The connector housing 32 has an opening 35 extending in the longitudinal direction at the center thereof, and has a frame shape as a whole when seen in a plan view.

Referring also to FIGS. 3 and 4, on one surface of the connector housing 32, a plurality of mounting grooves 36 into which the terminals 33 are fitted are formed at predetermined intervals. The front portion of the mounting groove 36 is open to the front surface of the connector housing 32 so that the pin portion 33a of the terminal 33 projects. The middle portion of the mounting groove 36 communicates with the opening 35. Further, at the rear portion of the mounting groove 36, the terminal 3
A hole 37 into which the tail portion 33b extending in an L shape of 3 is inserted
Has become.

At the front portion of the terminal 33, the boss portion 33 is engaged with the inner wall of the terminal groove 33 when inserted into the mounting groove 36.
c is formed. Further, the tail portion 33b of the terminal 33 is provided with a claw portion 33d that engages with the inner wall of the tail portion 33b when the terminal portion 33 is inserted into the hole 37. Further, the intermediate portion of the terminal 33 projects into the mounting groove 36 and is inserted into the opening portion 35, and the through hole 33 which is a long hole in that portion when viewed from the side.
e is formed.

A recess 38 is formed on the surface of the housing 32 opposite to the surface on which the mounting groove 36 is formed. The recess 38 is surrounded in three directions by a wall portion 39 that forms the front surface of the connector housing 32 and a wall portion 40 that forms both side surfaces.
The edge of the FPC 21 is adapted to fit that portion.

Further, metal fittings 41 are attached to the wall portions 40 forming both side surfaces of the connector housing 32 so that they can be soldered to a board or the like. In the case of this embodiment, the width w of the connector housing 32 is
Is 5 mm and the thickness t is 1.5 mm.

The terminal guide cover 34 is made of a synthetic resin plate having a shape that fits into the recess 38 of the connector housing 32, and a plurality of comb tooth-shaped guides 43 are provided on the back surface of the terminal guide cover 34 at predetermined intervals.

As shown in FIG. 5, the comb-shaped guide 43 is
The FPC 21 is inserted into the through hole 25 of the FPC 21, and is formed with a length and an interval so as to be inserted between the terminals 33, and a thick bulging portion 43a is formed in the middle portion thereof.
The portion is adapted to engage with the through hole 33e of the terminal 33. In this case, the upper and lower edges of the bulging portion 43a of the comb-shaped guide 43 are tapered so that they gradually become thicker and thinner, and come into pressure contact with the upper and lower edges of the through hole 33e of the terminal 33. ing.

Incidentally, 44 shown by an imaginary line in FIG.
Is a carrier for press-molding the terminal 33,
In the process of press molding, the terminal 33 is
The part indicated by c is cut and separated individually.

Further, in this embodiment, the terminal 33 is provided with the through hole 33e, but the terminal 33 may be cut as shown by an imaginary line 45 in FIG. .

Next, a method of using the connector 31 will be described. First, the portion of the FPC 21 in which the through hole 25 is provided is installed in the recess 38 of the connector 31 with the exposed surface of the conductor 23 facing the connector 31 side. In this state,
The conductor wire 23 substantially aligns with and abuts each terminal 33 exposed in the opening 35 of the connector 31.

Subsequently, the comb tooth-shaped guide 43 of the terminal guide cover 34 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 25 of the FPC 21,
Further, it is pushed into the gap of the terminal 33. As a result, as shown in FIG.
It is fitted into the through hole 33e and is prevented from coming off.

In this state, the FPC 21 has the through hole 25.
The exposed portion of the conductor wire 23 provided with is fixed by being sandwiched between the terminal guide cover 34 and the terminal 33, and the conductor wire 23 is pressed against the terminal 33 to ensure reliable conduction. Further, since the conductor wire 23 of the FPC 21 and the terminal 33 of the connector 31 are positioned by the comb tooth-shaped guide 43, they are not displaced. Furthermore, the thickness t of the connector housing 32 can be reduced to, for example, about 1.5 mm, and the electronic device can be downsized.

7 to 9 show another embodiment of the FPC connector according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged plan view of the connector, FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the connector, and FIG. 9 is the same. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the state connected to FPC. It should be noted that substantially the same parts as those in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 5 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The FPC connector 51 of this embodiment is different from the above-mentioned embodiment mainly in the structure of the terminal 52. The terminal 52 includes a pin portion 52a, a tail portion 52b,
It has a claw portion 52c, and these play the same role as the corresponding ones in the terminal 33 of the above-mentioned embodiment. However, in the terminal 52 of this embodiment, the convex portions 52d and 52e are formed on both side surfaces, and the bulging portions 43a of the comb-teeth-shaped guide 43 of the terminal guide cover 34 engage with the protruding portions 52d and 52e. It is like this. Also, in the middle of the terminal 52,
The connector housing 32 is provided with a protrusion 52f that protrudes toward the recess 38, and the inside of the protrusion 52f forms a cutout 52g, so that the protrusion 52f has a spring property.

Therefore, according to the FPC connector 51 of this embodiment, when the comb-teeth shaped guide 43 of the terminal guide cover 34 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 25 of the FPC 21 and further pushed into the gap of the terminal 33, the drawing As shown in FIG. 9, the bulging portion 43a of the comb-tooth-shaped guide 43 engages with the convex portions 52d and 52e on both side surfaces of the terminal 52 to prevent the comb 52 from coming off.

As a result, in the FPC 21, the portion where the conducting wire in which the through hole 25 is provided is exposed is the terminal guide cover 3
It is fixed by being sandwiched between 4 and the terminal 52. At this time, the terminal 52 is provided with a protrusion 52f, and the protrusion 5
Since 2f has a spring property due to the notch 52g, the projecting portion 52f of the terminal 52 has a spring property and is FPC.
It is pressed against the conductor portion 21. As a result, reliable conduction is established between each conductor of the FPC 21 and each corresponding terminal 52. Furthermore, since the conductor wire of the FPC 21 and the terminal 52 of the connector 31 are positioned by the comb-tooth-shaped guide 43, they are not displaced.

In the above embodiment, instead of the notch 52g provided inside the protruding portion 52f of the terminal 52,
A through hole may be provided, which also allows the protrusion 52f to have a spring property.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the comb-shaped guides are inserted between the conductors of the FPC and between the terminals of the connector, the conductors of the FPC and the terminals are accurately aligned. Further, the thick and bulged portion of the comb-shaped guide is fitted into a through hole or a notch provided in the intermediate portion of the terminal, or is engaged with a convex portion on the side surface of the terminal so that the FPC is transparent. Since the exposed portion of the conductor located between the hole and the through hole is sandwiched between the terminal of the connector and the terminal guide cover and pressed and fixed thereto, reliable conduction is achieved. In this case, if a protrusion having a spring property is provided in the intermediate portion of the terminal, this protrusion has a spring property and the FP
Since it contacts the conductor of C, the conductor of the FPC and the terminal can be contacted more reliably. And by adopting such a structure, the connector is made extremely thin,
It is possible to reduce the size of the electronic device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flexible printed wiring board connector according to an embodiment of the present invention and a flexible printed wiring board to which the connector is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the connector.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connector is connected to the flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional connector.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged plan view of a flexible printed wiring board connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connector is connected to the flexible printed wiring board.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Flexible Printed Wiring Board 22 Insulating Sheet 23 Conductor 24 Insulating Film 25 Through Hole 31 Connector 32 Connector Housing 33 Terminal 33e Through Hole 34 Terminal Guide Cover 35 Opening 36 Mounting Groove 43 Comb Tooth Guide 43a Swelling 52 Terminal 52d, 52e Projection 52f Projection 52g Notch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of thin-film conductors are formed in parallel on one surface of an insulating sheet at a predetermined pitch, and a through hole is provided near at least one edge portion between the conductors, and at least that portion. A connector to be attached to a flexible printed wiring board in which the conductor is exposed at a central portion with an opening along the longitudinal direction to form a frame shape as a whole, and one surface along the longitudinal direction. A connector housing provided with a plurality of mounting grooves for mounting the terminals at predetermined intervals, and a recess formed on the other surface on which the edge portion of the flexible printed wiring board is mounted, and the mounting of the connector housing. It is fitted in the groove and attached, the intermediate portion is exposed by the opening, and a through hole or a notch is provided in the intermediate portion to penetrate in the longitudinal direction of the connector housing. A number of terminals and through holes of the flexible printed wiring board arranged in the recesses of the connector housing, further inserted between the terminals through the openings of the connector housing and bulging thickly on the side surface. And a terminal guide cover having a plurality of comb-teeth shaped guides that fit into the through holes or cutouts of the terminal. 2. A plurality of thin film-shaped conductors are formed in parallel on one surface of an insulating sheet at a predetermined pitch, and a through hole penetrating between the conductors is provided in the vicinity of at least one edge portion, and at least that portion. A connector to be attached to a flexible printed wiring board in which the conductor is exposed at a central portion with an opening along the longitudinal direction to form a frame shape as a whole, and one surface along the longitudinal direction. A connector housing provided with a plurality of mounting grooves for mounting the terminals at predetermined intervals, and a recess formed on the other surface on which the edge portion of the flexible printed wiring board is mounted, and the mounting of the connector housing. It is fitted in the groove and attached, the intermediate portion is exposed by the opening, the intermediate portion projects toward the concave portion, and a through hole or a notch is provided inside thereof, The projecting portion is provided with a spring property, and further, a plurality of terminals provided with a convex portion projecting to the side surface and a through hole of the flexible printed wiring board arranged in the concave portion of the connector housing are passed, and further, A terminal guide cover having a plurality of comb tooth-shaped guides that are inserted between the terminals through the openings of the connector housing, and that have thick bulging portions on the side surfaces and that engage with the protrusions on the side surfaces of the terminals. A connector for a flexible printed wiring board, comprising: