JPH1154219A - Electrical connector and connection guide used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a superior electrical connector and a connecting guide used therefor, capable of positioning an FFC(flexible flat cable) and an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) in a connector main body with high precision and capable of certainly performing connection of each lead wire and each contact. SOLUTION: In this electrical connector, a band-shaped wire rod plugging-in groove 11 is formed on a connector front face, a first contact array 12 in line with a pitch 'n' is provided downward from a top face in the groove 11, and a second contact array 13 in lien with the pitch 'n' is provided in a disposition which is displaced from the first contact array 12 by a 1/2 pitch portion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connector used for connecting a flexible flat cable (FFC) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and a connection guide used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in electrical wiring of electronic equipment, an electrical connector has been used to connect a printed wiring board (PCB) to an FFC or FPC. The electrical connector is generally configured such that a connection end portion such as an FFC is inserted from the side or from above, and a connection contact row provided in the connector main body and a conductor row such as the FFC are separately connected. Has become. A part of each contact constituting the contact row is a PC of the electrical connector.
It is exposed on the surface facing B, and this exposed portion is connected to the wiring of the PCB.

[0003] Each contact in the contact row of the electric connector is fixed in a state of being arranged in the connector main body at a constant pitch in accordance with the pitch of a lead wire such as an FFC to be connected. With miniaturization, the pitch is often set to a narrow pitch of 0.5 mm or less. However, reducing the pitch of the contact row has limitations in both the positioning accuracy and the connection reliability.

[0004] In order to ensure more reliable connection, it has been proposed to provide the contact rows alternately in two rows at a connection end portion of, for example, an FFC (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-162229). As shown in FIG. 10, the electrical connector has a slider 2 on the front surface of the connector body 1.
The FPC 3 shown in the drawing is turned upside down with the slider 2 pulled out toward the user, and inserted into the connector main body 1 from below the slider 2. Then, by pushing the slider 2 into the connector body 1, the inserted F
As shown in FIG. 11, the conductor row 4 of the PC 3 is fixed in a state of being pressed against a connection portion 5a of a contact row 5 provided in the connector main body 1. Reference numeral 6 denotes a PCB on which the electric connector is mounted. The contact rows 5 are alternately arranged in two rows as shown in FIG. According to this electric connector, even if the pitch of the conductor row 4 and the contact row 5 of the FPC 3 is a narrow pitch of, for example, 0.5 mm or less, the connection portion can have an interval twice as long as the pitch. A reliable connection can be realized by increasing the overlap margin.

[0005]

However, on the other hand, there is a problem that the connector body 1 itself has to be enlarged, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of high-density mounting. Also, FP
Since the positioning of the C3 at the connection portion is performed by engagement between both ends P of the FPC 3 in the width direction (see FIG. 10) and both ends Q of the insertion port in the connector body 1, the dimensional accuracy of the FPC 3 itself, that is, the width direction Accurate positioning cannot be performed unless the dimensional accuracy of the distance H between the both ends P and both ends of the conductive wire row 4 is high. However, it is not easy to increase the dimensional accuracy, and the FPC 3 varies. Even if the electrical connector having the above configuration is used, a connection failure may occur.

Recently, a new type as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B has been marketed as a narrow pitch FFC in which the pitch of the conductor line is 0.5 mm or less. In this case, the conductor row 4 arranged in the width direction has
The end 7a of the insulating tape 7 is pulled out by a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction at the connection end, and the conductor row 4 is exposed at that portion. This has the advantage that the pitch accuracy of the conductor row 4 is very high, and is expected to be widely used in the future. However, even if the pitch accuracy is high, as in the conventional case, both ends in the width direction are used. Since the dimensional accuracy of the distance H between P and both ends of the conductive wire row 4 is not very good, when positioning in the electrical connector, both ends P in the width direction of the insulating tape 7 are used.
If the positioning is performed by the method, there is a problem that a connection failure may possibly occur.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to position an FFC or FPC in a connector body with high accuracy, and to reliably connect each conductor and each contact. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent electrical connector and a connection guide used therein.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a conductor row has a pitch n (n is a positive number) in a width direction on a surface of a connection end. On the back surface of the connection end, the conductor line pitch is n in the width direction.
An electrical connector used for connection of strip-shaped wiring members arranged in a state shifted by a half pitch from the layout of the front-side conductor row, and the front surface is provided with the strip-shaped wiring member for insertion. A groove is formed, and a first contact row arranged at a pitch n is provided downward from an upper surface in the groove, and is upwardly spaced from the lower contact in the groove by a half pitch from the upper surface in the groove. A gist of the present invention is an electric connector in which second contact rows arranged at a pitch n are provided in a shifted arrangement.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connector according to the first aspect, wherein the strip-shaped wiring member is provided with two upper and lower insulating wires arranged in the width direction at a pitch of n / 2. It is sandwiched between tapes, and the end of the insulating tape is pulled out by a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction at the connection end to partially expose the conductor row, and the exposed conductor row is as follows. The connection guides (A) are fitted and held in a state of protruding alternately one by one toward the front side and the back side of the strip-shaped wiring material, and are inserted into the grooves of the electric connector together with the connection guides (A). Is what it is. (A) a first surface contacting the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring member from below, and a second surface contacting the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring material from above, On the surface, ridges arranged at a pitch n are formed, and on the second surface, ridges arranged at a pitch n are formed so as to be displaced by 列 pitch from the row of ridges on the first surface. In the first surface and the second surface, notch holes having a plan view shape larger than the plan view shape of the protrusions are arranged at a pitch n between the protrusions of each protrusion row. The first and second surfaces are sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface, and the both ends are closed to form a convex row of the first surface.
Of the exposed conductor rows of the strip-shaped wiring material, one of the even-numbered rows or the odd-numbered rows is pushed out and enters into the cutout hole of the second surface, and the protruding line array of the second surface becomes the strip-shaped wiring. A connection guide adapted to enter into the cutout hole in the first surface in a state where the other of the even-numbered rows or the odd-numbered rows of the exposed conductor rows is pushed out.

[0010] Further, the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention provides:
3. A connection guide for use in the electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein the first surface is in contact with the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring member from below, and is also in contact with the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring member from above. A second surface, and the first surface is formed with ridges arranged at a pitch n, and the second surface is formed by a 列 pitch with the ridge array of the first surface. In a displaced arrangement, the pitch n
Are formed on the first surface and the second surface, and a notch hole having a shape in plan view larger than the shape of the protrusion in plan view between the protrusions in each of the protrusion rows. Are formed in a state where they are arranged at a pitch n, and the connecting ends of the strip-shaped wiring member are sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface so that both surfaces are closed to form the first surface. The protruding ridge row enters the notch hole of the second surface in a state where one of the even-numbered row or the odd-numbered row is pushed out of the exposed conductor row of the strip-shaped wiring material, and the protruding ridge row of the second surface is formed. However, a gist of the present invention is a connection guide that is configured to enter the notch hole in the first surface in a state where the other of the even-numbered rows or the odd-numbered rows of the strip-shaped wiring material is exposed.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

One embodiment of the electric connector of the present invention is as follows.
1 (a) and 1 (b) ([a] is a front view,
(B) is a bottom view).

That is, in this electric connector, a groove 11 for inserting an FFC, an FPC, or the like is formed on a front surface of a resin housing 10, and a pitch n (n is The first contact row 12 is provided as a (positive number). Further, a second contact row 13 arranged at a pitch n is provided so as to be displaced from the first contact row 12 by ピ ッ チ pitch upward from the lower surface in the groove 11.

In the groove 11, a conductor row 14a composed of a plurality of conductors is arranged at a pitch n in the width direction on the surface of the connection end, for example, as shown in FIG. Similarly, the strip-shaped wiring members 1 of FFC or FPC are arranged in such a manner that the conductor row 14b is arranged at a pitch n in the width direction and the arrangement thereof is shifted from the arrangement of the front-side conductor row 14a by ピ ッ チ pitch.
5 is to be inserted. Then, the conducting wire 14a on the front side of the inserted strip-shaped wiring member 15 necessarily comes into contact with each contact 20 of the first contact row 12 projecting downward from the upper surface in the groove 11, and the strip-shaped wiring member 15 The rear conductor row 14b inevitably comes into contact with the contacts 30 of the second contact row 13 projecting upward from the lower surface in the groove 11, so that a complete connection is made.

Each contact 20 in the first contact row 12 has a vertical piece 21 and three arms 22 to 24, as shown in FIG. The portion excluding the uppermost arm 22 is buried and fixed in the housing 10. The uppermost arm 22 of the contact 20 extends downward in the groove 11 and is provided with a downward projection 25 at the end thereof. As shown in FIG. 1
5 is in contact with the conductor row 14a on the front side.
However, the front surface of the vertical piece 21 and the bottom surface of the arm 24 at the lower end are exposed from the front surface and the bottom surface of the housing 10, and a part 24a of the bottom exposed portion, which protrudes downward, mounts the same. To be connected to the wiring of the PCB 26.

On the other hand, each contact 30 of the second contact row 13 has a vertical piece 31 and two arms 32, as shown in FIG. 33
The portion excluding the upper arm 32 is embedded and fixed in the housing 10. An upward projection 34 is provided at the tip of the upper arm 32, and the projection 34 is, as described above,
Is in contact with the conductor row 14b on the back side of the wire. However, the front surface of the vertical piece portion 31 and the bottom surface of the lower arm 33 are exposed from the front surface and the bottom surface of the housing 10, and a portion 33 of the bottom surface exposed portion that protrudes downward.
a is connected to the wiring of the PCB 26 on which it is mounted.

The protrusion 25 of the contact 20 is
The gap D between the contact 30 and the projection 34 (see FIG. 2)
Since the thickness of the strip-shaped wiring member 15 inserted into the groove 11 is set to be smaller than the thickness of the arm 22 of the contact 20, the inserted strip-shaped wiring member 15 (see FIG. 9) The projections 25, 34 are sandwiched from above and below by the projections 25, 34, and the projections 25, 34 are pressed into contact with the conductor rows 14 a, 14 b on the front and back surfaces of the strip-shaped wiring member 15. This ensures that each connection is made.

As described above, this electrical connector is conventionally
The first contact row 1 is arranged at a double pitch by using a strip-shaped wiring member 15 (see FIG. 9), which is arranged on the same plane at a narrow pitch and is shifted on the front and back surfaces at a double pitch.
2 and the second contact row 13 are connected from the top and bottom. Therefore, the contact rows 12, 13 can be provided at the same pitch as the conventional one in the same space as the conventional one, so that the contact rows 12, 13 can be provided with extremely excellent dimensional accuracy, and a reliable connection is achieved. can do.

The contacts 20 and 30 of the contact rows 12 and 13 may have any shape. However, the contacts 20 and 30 of the contact rows 12 and 13 must be provided in the grooves 11 formed in the housing 10. Must be configured so as to press-contact the wire arrays 14a and 14b provided on the front and back surfaces.

The electrical connector of the present invention is different from the strip-shaped wiring member 15 having the structure shown in FIG.
Also, the present invention can be used for connecting a strip-shaped wiring member (= FFC) as shown in FIGS. In this case, instead of inserting the strip-shaped wiring member directly into the groove 11 of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 and connecting, for example, a connection guide 40 as shown in FIG. The connection is made with the.

The connection guide 40 is formed by folding a single flexible plastic sheet 40a into the middle thin portion 4 for folding.
1 is formed so as to be able to be folded back around the center, and the first surface 42 and the second surface 43 facing each other at the time of folding are provided with a row of ridges 44, 45 for sandwiching the strip-shaped wiring member 50;
Notch hole rows 46 and 47 are formed. Then, the strip-shaped wiring member 50 is sandwiched between the connection guides 40 and
Is folded and closed, and the convex rows 44, 44 on both surfaces are closed.
45 enters into the notched hole rows 46 and 47 on the opposing surface, and as shown in FIG. 5, the whole becomes a thin plate shape. The thickness t in the closed state is set to a thickness that can be inserted into the groove 11 of the electrical connector shown in FIG.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 showing a state in which the connection guide 40 is opened by 180 °, the protruding line array 44 formed on the first surface 42 4 are arranged in the width direction at the same pitch n.
The length L ₁ of each protruding strip 60 is set slightly shorter than the length L ₂ of the exposed portion of the conductive wire row 4.
On the other hand, the convex line 45 formed on the second surface 43 is composed of the convex line having the same shape as the convex line 44 on the first surface 42, and the arrangement thereof is the convex line on the first surface 42. It is shifted from the row 44 by ピ ッ チ pitch.

Further, a rectangular cutout hole 61 (see FIG. 6) having a shape in a plan view slightly larger than the shape of the protrusions 60 in a plan view is provided between the protrusions 60 of the protrusion rows 44 and 45. Are formed at a pitch n, and the notch hole rows 46 on the first face 42 and the notch hole rows 47 on the second face 43 are shifted from each other by ピ ッ チ pitch. ing.

The first surface 42 and the second surface 43
7, as shown in FIG. 7, the row of convex stripes 44 formed on the first surface 42 enters into the row of cutouts 47 formed on the second surface 43, and as shown in FIG. The row of convex stripes 45 formed on the second surface 43 enters into the row of notches 46 formed on the first surface 42. Therefore, the connecting end of the strip-shaped wiring member 50 is placed between the first surface 42 and the second surface 43 as shown in FIG. 4, and is formed on the first surface 42 at that time. Row of convex stripes 44 and row of notched holes 4
When the first surface 42 and the second surface 43 are closed together so that the exposed conductor row 4 of the strip-shaped wiring member 50 overlaps the conductor row 4, the conductor row 4 becomes as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The upper and lower convex rows 44 and 45 are alternately pushed one by one into the notch rows 46 and 47 on the other side. This allows
Every other row 4x among the conductor rows 4 arranged at n / 2 pitch
Are exposed from the cutout hole row 47 on the upper surface side of the connection guide 40, and are arranged at a double pitch n. Also, every other row 4y between rows exposed from the notch hole row 47
Are exposed from the notch hole row 46 on the lower surface side of the connection guide 40, and are arranged at a double pitch n. At the time of the pushing operation of the conductive wire array 4, each conductive wire is in a state where the left and right directions are regulated by the staggered ridges 60 arranged alternately up and down. There is no shift.

Accordingly, when the connection guide 40 is inserted into the groove 11 of the electric connector shown in FIG. 1 in a state where the connection guide 40 is closed with the strip-shaped wiring member 50 therebetween, a notch hole on the upper surface side of the connection guide 40 is formed. Conductor row 4 exposed from row 47
x is in pressure contact with the first contact row 12, and the conductor row 4 y similarly exposed from the notch hole row 46 on the lower surface side of the connection guide 40 is in pressure contact with the second contact row 13, and each connection is reliably performed. be able to.

In the above example, the connection guide 40 is
Although one flexible plastic sheet is folded in half at the center, it is not always necessary to make such a configuration, and a member having the first surface 42 and a second
The member having the surface 43 may be manufactured separately, and both may be fitted together with the strip-shaped wiring member 50 interposed between the two members during an actual connection operation.

The electrical connector of the present invention is a PCB
In addition to the connection of FFC and FPC used when mounting various electronic devices on the
It is also used when connecting a PC to an optical head or the like.

Further, the electrical connector of the present invention has an excellent effect when used for a narrow pitch, and the pitch of the conductor line to be connected is 0.5 mm or less, and especially 0.3 mm or less. In the pitch connection, particularly excellent effects can be exhibited.

Next, an embodiment will be described.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The electrical connector shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B (contact thickness t = 0.15, number of contacts in the first contact row 12 = 26, number of contacts in the second contact row 13 = 25, Using each contact pitch = 0.6 mm), the actual FFC (Sumicard type UL2896,
Manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., [number of conductors n = 40, conductor pitch 0.
3 mm, a conductive wire thickness of 0.035 mm, a width of 14 mm, and a draw-out end length of 1.5 mm]). Number of samples 1
When 0 was checked for connection failure, no connection failure occurred in any case, and it was good.

[0031]

As described above, the electrical connector according to the present invention has a first contact row and a second contact row having a pitch n which are arranged above and below the strip-shaped wiring member insertion groove at a pitch of 1/2 pitch from each other. And the first and second contact rows can be connected to the conductor row of the strip-shaped wiring member from above and below. Therefore, in the same space as in the past, the conductors arranged on the front and back surfaces of the belt-shaped wiring member can be connected at twice the pitch of the conventional wire line. And a secure connection can be achieved. In particular, as a strip-shaped wiring material,
In the case of using a special configuration in which a conductor row arranged at a pitch n / 2 in the width direction is sandwiched between two upper and lower insulating tapes and the conductor row is exposed by a predetermined length at a connection end,
By using the special connection guide of the present invention, alternately extruding and holding the exposed conductor row of the strip-shaped wiring material on the front and back surfaces of the connection guide one by one, the electric wire of the present invention can be easily connected. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 1 (a).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a connection guide used in another embodiment of the present invention is opened at an appropriate angle.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the connection guide is closed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the connection guide is opened from 180 ° and viewed from directly above.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state in which the connection guide is closed.

FIG. 8 is another sectional view showing a state in which the connection guide is closed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an example of a strip-shaped wiring member used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional electrical connector.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional electrical connector.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of arrangement of contacts of the conventional electric connector.

FIG. 13A shows an FFC that can be used in the present invention.
And (b) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 groove 12 first contact row 13 second contact row

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wire row is arranged at a pitch n (n is a positive number) in a width direction on a surface of a connection end, and a wire row is formed at a pitch n in a width direction on a back face of the connection end. An electrical connector for use in connecting strip-shaped wiring members arranged in a state shifted by a half pitch from the arrangement of the front-side conductor row, wherein a groove for inserting the strip-shaped wiring member is formed on the front surface. And a first line arranged at a pitch n downward from the upper surface in the groove.
And a second contact row arranged at a pitch n and displaced upward from the lower surface in the groove by a half pitch from the first contact row. Electrical connector characterized by the above. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped wiring member has a pitch n /
2 is sandwiched between the upper and lower two insulating tapes, and the end of the insulating tape is pulled out by a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction at the connecting end to partially expose the conductive line. The exposed conductive wire row is fitted and held by the following connection guide (A) in such a manner as to alternately protrude one by one toward the front surface side and the back surface side of the strip-shaped wiring material. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is adapted to be inserted into a groove of the electrical connector. (A) a first surface contacting the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring member from below, and a second surface contacting the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring material from above, On the surface, ridges arranged at a pitch n are formed, and on the second surface, the arrangement of the ridges on the second surface is shifted by ２ pitch, and the pitch n
Are formed on the first surface and the second surface, and a notch hole having a shape in plan view larger than the shape of the protrusion in plan view between the protrusions in each of the protrusion rows. Are formed in a state where they are arranged at a pitch n, and the connecting ends of the strip-shaped wiring member are sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface so that both surfaces are closed to form the first surface. The protruding ridge row enters the notch hole of the second surface in a state where one of the even-numbered row or the odd-numbered row is pushed out of the exposed conductor row of the strip-shaped wiring material, and the protruding ridge row of the second surface is formed. Is a connection guide that is inserted into the cutout hole of the first surface in a state where the other of the even-numbered rows and the odd-numbered rows of the strip-shaped wiring members exposed is pushed out. 3. A connection guide used for the electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein the first surface is in contact with the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring member from below, and the connection end of the strip-shaped wiring material is also formed. A second surface contacting from above, and the first surface
The ridges arranged at a pitch n are formed, and the ridges arranged at a pitch n on the second surface are arranged at a position shifted from the ridge array of the first surface by ピ ッ チ pitch, and On the first surface and the second surface, notches having a plan view shape larger than the plan view shape of the protrusions are arranged at a pitch n between the protrusions of each protrusion row. By forming the connecting end of the strip-shaped wiring member between the first surface and the second surface and closing both surfaces, the protruding line array of the first surface is changed to the strip-shaped wiring member. Out of the exposed conductor rows, one of the even-numbered rows or the odd-numbered rows was pushed into the notch holes of the second surface, and the protruding strips of the second surface exposed the strip-shaped wiring material. With the other row of the even-numbered row or the odd-numbered row being pushed out of the conductor row, the wire is inserted into the cutout hole of the first surface. Connection guide, characterized in that it is Tsu.