JPH1168338A - Protective cover for flexible printed wiring board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a flexible printed wiring board from being damaged or a pattern from being disconnected by a floating section formed on the outside of a case. SOLUTION: A protective cover 30 which protects the floating section 21 of a flexible printed wiring board 11 which floats from a case 15 when the section 21 is drawn out to the outside of the case 15 from a connector 12 is provided. The cover 30 is constituted of a box-like housing section 31 which houses the floating section 21 and a flange section 32 which is integrally provided successively from the periphery of the housing section 31 and fixed to the case 15 with fixing means 23, 26, 34, and 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protective cover for protecting a flexible printed circuit board incorporated in an instrument such as a combination meter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5 and 6 show a conventional mounting structure of a flexible printed wiring board to a combination meter. A connector 2 is mounted on an end of the flexible printed wiring board 1. FIG.

[0003] A hard printed wiring board 4 is provided inside the case 3 of the meter, and the flexible printed wiring board 1 is connected to the printed wiring board 4. To make this connection, a mating connector 5 is attached to the printed wiring board 4, and the connector 2 of the flexible printed wiring board 1 is fitted into the mating connector 5, thereby making contact with the contact (not shown) of the connector 2. The contact 6 inside the connector 5 comes into contact, and the flexible printed wiring board 1 and the printed wiring board 4 conduct.

In this structure, the flexible printed wiring board 1 is connected to the printed wiring board 4 from outside the case 3. That is, the connector 2 is connected by inserting the connector 2 at the end into the case 3 and fitting it into the mating connector 5 inside the case 3. In this case, the length of the flexible printed wiring board 1 is set to have a certain margin in order to take into consideration the connection workability and to prevent disconnection of the pattern due to excessive bending. For this reason,
The flexible printed wiring board 1 is inevitably formed with a raised portion 1 a in which a portion immediately after being drawn out of the case 3 is lifted from the case 3.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 8 denotes a fixing boss for fixing the flexible printed wiring board 1 by press-fitting and penetrating the flexible printed wiring board 1, and reference numeral 9 denotes an intermediate portion of the flexible printed wiring board 1 as a case. Reference numeral 10 denotes a printed wiring board fixing screw for fixing the rigid printed wiring board 4 to the inside of the case 3. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 7 denotes solder for connecting the contacts 6 of the mating connector 5 to the pattern of the printed wiring board 4.

[0006]

In the conventional structure described above, the raised portion 1a is formed on the flexible printed wiring board 1 drawn out of the case 3, and when the meter is handled, the raised portion 1a is used by the operator or the like. The flexible printed wiring board 1 is likely to interfere with other components, and may be damaged. In addition, there is also a problem that an excessive stress acts on the flexible printed wiring board 1 due to interference, and the pattern of the flexible printed wiring board 1 is disconnected.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such a conventional problem, and the floating portion of the flexible printed wiring board floating outside the case does not interfere with other parts or the operator. It is another object of the present invention to provide a protective cover capable of preventing damage to a flexible printed wiring board and disconnection of a pattern.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a connector that fits with a mating connector provided in a case is mounted on a flexible printed circuit board. A cover for protecting a floating portion of a flexible printed wiring board which rises from the case by being pulled out of the case, and a box-shaped housing portion for housing the floating portion, and integrally provided around the housing portion. And
A flange fixed to the case by fixing means.

The protective cover is fixed by fixing the flange portion to the case, and the housing portion holds the floating portion of the flexible printed circuit board, which is floating outside the case, in a housed state. Therefore,
The raised part of the flexible printed wiring board is not exposed to the outside, the interference with the operator and other parts when handling the meter is eliminated, and damage and disconnection of the pattern can be prevented beforehand. improves.

A second aspect of the present invention is the invention according to the first aspect, wherein the housing portion and the flange portion are formed in a thin shape by a resin.

[0011] In this structure, the housing portion and the flange portion are thin and are formed of resin, so that the entire protective cover can be reduced in weight.
Therefore, to protect the flexible printed circuit board,
Even if a protective cover is attached to a component such as a meter, the increase in weight is small, and the increase in weight of the entire component is small.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing means is formed by a screw whose head is exposed to the outside of the case, and the flange, and It is a press-fit hole that is press-fitted into the head.

According to the present invention, the flange portion can be fixed to the case by press-fitting the press-fit hole into the screw exposed to the outside of the case. Since the press-fitting can be performed without using a special tool, the fixing of the flange portion to the case can be easily performed.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the invention according to the third aspect, wherein an outer surface of the head of the screw is formed in a curved shape.

Since the head of the screw has a curved outer shape, the press-fitting of the press-fitting hole of the flange portion and the detachment thereof can be easily performed. For this reason, attachment and detachment of the protective cover from the case become easy.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the screw is a printed wiring board fixing screw for fixing the printed wiring board to which the mating connector is attached in the case. There is a feature.

In the present invention, the screw for fixing the flange portion is also used as the screw for fixing the printed wiring board inside the case. Therefore, a dedicated screw for fixing the protective cover is not required, so that the number of components does not increase and the number of steps for mounting the screw does not increase.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a connected state. Flexible printed wiring board 11 is a conductor pattern (not shown)
Are formed, and a connector 12 is attached to the end. The connector 12 is fitted to a mating connector 16 provided inside a case 15 of a combination meter, for example.

The mating connector 16 is attached to a rigid printed wiring board 17 provided inside the case 15, and the mating of the connectors 12, 16 causes the above-mentioned boards 11, 17 to be electrically connected. Connecting. The mating connector 16 has an open upper surface, and a plurality of contacts 18 are provided inside the connector 16 in a rising manner. Each contact 18 penetrates the hard printed wiring board 17, and its penetrating end 18 a is connected to the pattern of the hard printed wiring board 17 via solder 19.

On the other hand, a contact insertion hole 13 into which a contact 18 is inserted is formed on the bottom surface of the connector 12 on the flexible printed wiring board 11 side, and an inside communicating with the contact insertion hole 13 is provided inside. A contact (not shown) that contacts the contact of the mating connector 16 is provided. Thus, by mating the connector 12 with the mating connector 16, the corresponding contacts are brought into contact and connected.

The mating state of the connectors 12 and 16 is such that the locking projection 14 of the connector 12 on the side of the flexible printed wiring board 11 is protruded while the rigid printed wiring board 17 is
An engaging hole 20 is formed in the mating connector 16 on the side, and the engaging projection 14 and the engaging hole 20 are held by engagement. Thereby, the connector 12 does not come off from the mating connector, and the connection state between the flexible printed wiring board 11 and the rigid printed wiring board 17 is stabilized. The case 15 has an opening 15a into which the connector 12 on the flexible printed wiring board 11 side is inserted.

To fix the rigid printed wiring board 17 in the case 15, a support cylinder 36 is integrally hung inside the case 15, and the screw portion 26a of the printed wiring board fixing screw 26 is passed through the support cylinder 36. By screwing the tip of the screw portion 26a into the screw hole of the hard printed wiring board 17. Printed wiring board fixing screw 26
Is inserted into the support cylinder 36 from the outside of the case 15, so that the head 28 is exposed to the outside of the case 15.

The connector 12 is connected to the insertion port 15a of the case 15.
When the connector is inserted into the case 15 and fitted into the mating connector 16 inside the case 15, the floating portion 21 is formed at the end 11a of the flexible printed circuit board 11 on the connector 12 side (see FIG. 2). This prevents the flexible printed wiring board 11 from being pulled by the end 11a on the connector 12 side being bent more than necessary by the insertion of the connector into the case 15, and preventing the pattern from being broken by this pulling force. At the same time, the operation of inserting the connector 12 into the case 15 can be easily performed with a small force.

In order to hold the raised portion 21, the flexible printed wiring board fixing screw 2
3 are provided. The flexible printed wiring board fixing screw 23 is attached to the case 15 at a position close to the end 11a of the flexible printed wiring board 11, as shown in FIG. Further, a fixing hole 25 is formed in the flexible printed wiring board 11. Then, the screws 23 for fixing the flexible printed wiring board are passed through the fixing holes 25 and the screws 23 are screwed into the case 15, so that the careless movement of the flexible printed wiring board 11 is restricted. Part 2
1 does not collapse.

The fixing boss 22 is provided on the outer surface of the case 15.
And the flexible printed wiring board 11
A boss hole 24 is formed, and the fixing boss 22 is pressed into the boss hole 24 to fix the flexible printed wiring board 11.
By this fixing, careless movement of the flexible printed wiring board 11 can be restricted. This can also prevent the raised portion 21 from being crushed. Therefore, by providing at least one of the flexible printed wiring board fixing screw 23 and the fixing boss 22, the raised portion 21 can be reliably held.

In order to protect the raised portion 21 of the flexible printed circuit board 11 from the outside, a protective cover 30 is provided. This protective cover 30 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the housing portion 31 and the flange portion 32 are formed.

The housing portion 31 has a rising side wall 33 around the periphery, and is formed in a box shape protruding upward. The accommodation portion 31 accommodates the raised portion 21 of the flexible printed wiring board 11, and this accommodation covers the entire raised portion 21.
The floating portion 21 is prevented from being exposed. For this reason, the raised portion 21 does not interfere with the hand of the operator or other components, and the interference does not damage the flexible printed wiring board 11 or break the pattern, thereby preventing connection. Reliability is improved.

The flange portion 32 is integrally and continuously provided around the accommodating portion 31 in a state of being lowered stepwise. The flange portion 32 contacts the outer surface of the case 15 and is fixed to the case 15 by being lowered stepwise.

In this embodiment, the fixing of the flange portion 32 to the outer surface of the case 15 is performed by also using the screw 26 for fixing the printed wiring board. In addition, a press-fit hole 35 is formed in the flange portion 32 for this fixing.

3 and 4 show a fixing structure of the flange portion 32. FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, when the diameter of the head 28 of the printed wiring board fixing screw 26 exposed to the outside of the case 15 is B and the hole diameter of the press-fit hole 35 of the flange portion 32 is A, B> A. Is set to In this relation, the press-fit hole 35 is formed by the head 28 of the screw 26 for fixing the printed wiring board.
The head 28 can be pressed into the press-in hole 35 by pressing the flange portion 32 against the case 15. By this press-fitting, the flange portion 32 is
8, the flange 32 can be fixed to the outer surface of the case 15. With such press-fitting, no special tools are required and the operation is simple,
Can be easily fixed.

As described above, when the printed wiring board fixing screw 26 is used as the fixing means of the flange portion 32, a dedicated screw for fixing is not required. Therefore, the number of parts does not increase, and the work of attaching the dedicated screw becomes unnecessary, so that the workability can be prevented from being reduced. In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a press-fit hole 34 is formed on the far side of the flange portion 32. The screw 23 for fixing the flexible printed circuit board is similarly press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 34 on the back side. This acts to fix the flange portion 32, but is unnecessary and can be omitted when the flange portion 32 is sufficiently fixed by press-fitting into the printed wiring board fixing screw 26.

In this embodiment, as the flexible printed wiring board fixing screw 26, a screw whose head 28 has a curved outer surface is used as shown in FIGS. With a curved outer shape, the above-described press-fitting can be performed smoothly, and furthermore, separation from the press-fitting can be easily performed. For this reason, attachment and detachment of the protection cover 30 become easy, and workability such as maintenance and replacement is improved. In FIGS. 3 and 4, reference numeral 29 denotes a washer inserted between the head 28 of the printed wiring board fixing screw 26 and the case 15.

In this embodiment, furthermore, the accommodation section 31,
The entirety of the protective cover 30 including the flange portion 32 is formed of resin and is formed in a thin shape. Since the thin resin is light in weight, the entire protective cover is light in weight. Therefore, even if the protective cover 30 is incorporated, the increase in weight is small, and there is a merit particularly in mounting on a car.

[0034]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the housing portion of the protective cover houses the floating portion of the flexible printed wiring board, and the flange portion fixes the protective cover to the case. Since the portion is not exposed to the outside, there is no interference with the operator or other parts, and damage and disconnection of the pattern can be prevented beforehand, thereby improving reliability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the housing portion and the flange portion are thin, the entire protective cover can be reduced in weight, and the weight does not increase significantly even when the protective cover is assembled.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the press-fit hole can be press-fitted into the screw exposed to the outside of the case to fix the flange, the flange can be easily fixed to the case.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the head of the screw is curved, the press-fitting and releasing thereof can be easily performed, and the protective cover can be easily attached to and detached from the case.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the screw for fixing the flange portion is also used as the screw for fixing the printed circuit board inside the case, a special screw for fixing the protective cover is not required, and the number of parts is reduced. It does not lead to an increase.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled state of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view before a screw is press-fitted.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a screw press-fit state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional mounting structure for a flexible printed wiring board.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional mounting structure for a flexible printed wiring board.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Flexible printed wiring board 12 Connector 15 Case 21 Floating part 23 Screw for fixing flexible printed wiring board (fixing means) 26 Screw for fixing printed wiring board (fixing means) 28 Head 30 Protective cover 31 Housing part 32 Flange part 34, 35 Press-fit hole (fixing means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] A connector fitted to a mating connector provided in a case is attached to a flexible printed wiring board, and a floating portion of the flexible printed wiring board which rises from the case when pulled out of the case from the connector. And a box-shaped housing portion for housing the raised portion, and a flange portion integrally provided around the housing portion and fixed to the case by fixing means. A protective cover for a flexible printed circuit board. 2. The protective cover for a flexible printed circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the housing portion and the flange portion are formed in a thin shape with resin. 3. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the fixing means is formed by a screw having a head exposed to the outside of the case and the flange, and is press-fitted into the head of the screw. A protective cover for a flexible printed circuit board, characterized in that it is a press-fit hole. 4. The protective cover for a flexible printed circuit board according to claim 3, wherein the head of the screw has a curved outer surface. 5. The printed wiring board according to claim 3, wherein the screw is a printed wiring board fixing screw for fixing a printed wiring board to which the mating connector is attached in the case. Flexible printed wiring board protection cover.