WO2017172233A1

WO2017172233A1 - Connector for flexible circuit cable

Info

Publication number: WO2017172233A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/020376
Authority: WO
Inventors: Suk Min Kim
Original assignee: Molex, Llc
Priority date: 2016-03-31
Filing date: 2017-03-02
Publication date: 2017-10-05
Also published as: KR20170112307A

Abstract

A connector for a flexible circuit cable is provided. The connector being configured to prevent a contact failure with a substrate that occurs due to an external force that acts on a flexible flat cable (FFC) or a flexible printed circuit (FPC) cable by buffering the external force that acts on the cable.

Description

CONNECTOR FOR FLEXI BLE CIRCUIT CABLE

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2016-0039190, filed March 31, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a connector for a flexible circuit cable capable of preventing a contact failure with a substrate that occurs due to an external force that acts on the flexible circuit cable.

BACKGROUND ART

[0003] Recently, as electronic products have been miniaturized and highly functionalized, many electronic devices are arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB). Accordingly, a plurality of signals are input into a product or output from the product in parallel . A soft flexible flat cable (FFC), a flexible printed circuit (FPC), or the like are generally used for electrical connections among such devices. In the FFC or FPC (hereinafter, referred to as cables), a plurality of electrodes are arranged in parallel to form one cable, and a degree of freedom of design is high compared with a hard PCB. Such a cable is detachably connected to a connector mounted on a substrate and is electrically connected to the substrate with the connector as a medium.

[0004] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to a conventional technology. FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views illustrating a combination structure of a contact point terminal and a fitting nail of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4 A and 4B are concept views illustrating an external force applied to a connection between a cable and a connector,

[0005] As shown in FIG. 1, a connector Γ is mounted on a substrate 2 of an electronic device and a cable 3 is inserted into one side thereof and electrically connects the cable 3 to the substrate 2. The connector Γ includes a housing 10 having a terminal insertion hole in a front surface of one side, a plurality of contact terminals 20 arranged at regular intervals in a longitudinal direction of the housing and combined in the terminal insertion hole, an actuator 30 that fixes/separates the cable to the housing by a pivoting operation and simultaneously brings the cable into contact with the contact terminal and releases the contact therebetween, and a fitting nail 40 that fixes the housing to the substrate.

[0006] In the contact terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 2, a front side is divided into a supporting portion 21 on an upper portion and a contact portion 22 on a lower portion thereof and accommodates the cable 2 in a space portion 23 therebetween and a substrate interface portion 24 protrudes downward at a rear side and is coupled with the substrate 3. The substrate interface portion 24 is combined with the substrate 3 using a surface mounting technology s or the like and fixes the contact terminals 20 to the substrate 3.

[0007] Also, in the fitting nail 40, as shown in FIG. 3, a pressurizing portion 41 that protrudes inward from a top end of one side pressurizes the housing 10 and the actuator 30 toward the substrate 3, a fastening portion (not shown) that protrudes rearward is fastened to the housing 10, and a joint portion 42 that protrudes outward from a bottom end of the other side is combined with the substrate 3. The joint portion 42 is combined with the substrate 3 using the surface mounting technology s or the like and fixes the housing 10 to the substrate 3.

[0008] As described above, the contact terminals 20 accommodate the cable 2 and are fixed to the substrate 3 to transmit electrical signals between the cable 2 and the substrate 3, and the fitting nail 40 pressurizes the housing 10 and is fixed to the substrate 3 to fix the connector 1 ' to the substrate 3.

[0009] Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS, 4A and 4B, while the cable 2 is connected to the connector Γ, an external force may be applied to the cable 2, The external force may be generated by various causes such as interference of the cable 2 and other devices, careless handling of a user, vibrations of an electronic device, or the like. Particularly, in a case in which both end portions of the cable 2 are connected respectively to the connector Γ in a curved display apparatus, when a curved surface is added to a display apparatus or a curvature thereof varies, as the cable 2 moves together, the external force acts on the cable 2, The external force may act in a direction (an x direction) in which the cable is inserted like (a), a direction (a y direction) outside the direction in which the cable is inserted like (b), or in various directions according to the cause thereo

[0010] As described above, the external force that acts on the cable 2 is wholly transferred to the contact terminals 20 and may break a contact point between the substrate interface portion 24 of the contact terminal 20 and the substrate 3, or may even separate them. Also, the external force may be transferred to the fitting nail 40 through the contact terminal 20 and the housing 10 and may destroy a combination between the joint portion 42 of the fitting nail 40 and the substrate 3 to separate them.

[0011] Particularly, the external force applied in the direction (the x direction) in which the cable 2 is inserted acts on the contact terminal 20 and has a strong influence on a contact point between the substrate interface portion 24 of the contact terminal 20 and the substrate 3, and the external force applied in a positive direction (the y direction) in which the cable 2 is inserted acts on the fitting nail 40 and has a strong influence on coupling between the joint portion 42 of the fitting nail 40 and the substrate 3.

[0012] As described above, a phenomenon in which a combination between a contact terminal or a fitting nail and a substrate is separated by an external force that acts on a cable frequently occurs at the connector for a flexible circuit cable according to the conventional technology.

[0013] Patent Document 0001 : Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0034418 (filed and published on April 5, 2013, titled Connector for Flexible Circuit Cable)

SUMMARY

[0014] To solve the problems described above, the present disclosure provides a connector for a flexible circuit cable, capable of preventing a contact failure or a separation that occurs between a contact terminal and a substrate and between a fitting nail and the substrate by buffering an external force that acts on the cable.

[0015] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a connector for a flexible circuit cable, including a housing including a plurality of terminal insertion holes, a contact terminal including a cable connection portion that protrudes forward and into which the cable is inserted, a terminal buffering portion that has at least one curved surface portion and extends from the cable connection portion, and a substrate interface portion that extends from the terminal buffering portion to come into contact with a substrate and be coupled to the terminal insertion hole, an actuator that brings the cable inserted into the contact terminal into contact with the cable connection portion or releases the contact therebetween by being hinge-pivoted, and a fitting nail including a housing connection portion that is in contact with the housing and fixing the housing to the substrate.

[0016] Here, the terminal buffering portion may include a first linear portion that extends upward from the substrate interface portion, a first curved surface portion at which a direction of an end of the first linear portion is changed, and a connection portion that extends from an end of the first curved surface portion and is connected to the cable connection portion or may further include a second linear portion at which the end of the first curved surface portion extends downward and a second curved surface portion at which an end of the second linear portion is changed in direction and connected to the connection portion.

[0017] Also, the cable connection portion may include a supporting portion on an upper portion thereof, a contact portion on a lower portion thereof and with a rear connected to the supporting portion, and a space portion that accommodates the cable between the supporting portion and the contact portion.

[0018] Also, the terminal buffering portion may be configured to position a top end thereof at a height that is lower than a top end of the cable connection portion.

[0019] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a connector for a flexible circuit cable, including a housing comprising a plurality of terminal insertion holes, a contact terminal comprising a cable connection portion that protrudes forward and into which a cable is inserted and coupled to the terminal insertion hole to come into contact with a substrate, an actuator that brings the cable inserted into the contact terminal into contact with the cable connection portion or releases the contact therebetween by being hinge-pivoted, and a fitting nail comprising a housing connection portion in contact with the housing, a nail buffering portion that has at least one curved surface portion and extends from the housing connection portion, and a substrate joint portion that extends from the nail buffering portion to come into contact with the substrate, and fixing the housing to the substrate.

[0020] Here, the nail buffering portion may include a first linear portion that extends upward from the substrate joint portion, a first curved surface portion at which a direction of an end of the first linear portion is changed, and a connection portion that extends from an end of the first curved surface portion and is connected to the housing connection portion or may further include a second linear portion at which the end of the first curved surface portion extends downward and a second curved surface portion at which an end of the second linear portion is changed in direction and connected to the connection portion.

[0021] Also, the nail buffering portion may include a concave portion having a relatively narrow width due to a lateral side portion of a terminal depressed inward,

[0022] Also, the housing connection portion may include at least one of a pressurizing portion that pressurizes a top surface of the housing and a fastening portion that protrudes backward from the pressurizing portion and is fastened to the housing.

[0023] A connector according to the present disclosure includes a terminal buffering portion intervening between a cable connection portion with a contact terminal that is in contact with a cable and a substrate interface portion that is in contact with a substrate in such a way that an external force transferred to the cable connection portion may be absorbed by the terminal buffering portion to minimize an effect on a contact point of the substrate interface portion and the substrate, and more particularly, a contact failure of the substrate interface portion and the substrate with respect to an external force applied in an insertion direction of the cable may be effectively prevented.

[0024] Also, the connector according to the present disclosure includes a nail buffering portion intervening between a housing connection portion with a fitting nail that is in contact with a housing and a substrate joint portion coupled to a substrate in such a way that an external force transferred to the fitting nail is absorbed by the nail buffering portion to minimize an effect on a coupling between the substrate joint portion and the substrate, and more particularly, a separation of the substrate joint portion and the substrate with respect to an external force applied in both directions in which the cable is inserted may be effectively prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. I is a perspective view of a connector according to a conventional technology; [0026] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an interface terminal coupling structure of the connector shown in FIG. 1 ,

[0027] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fitting nail coupling structure of the connector shown in FIG. I ;

[0028] FIGS. 4A and 4B are concept views illustrating an external force being applied to a connection between a cable and a connector;

[0029] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 6 is a coupling perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5;

[0031] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a contact terminal that is a main portion of FIG. 6 in detail,

[0032] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the contact terminal of FIG. 7,

[0033] FIG. 9 is a concept view illustrating buffering of the contact terminal of FIG. 7;

[0034] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a fitting nail that is a main portion of FIG. 6 in detail;

[0035] FIG. is a perspective view of the fitting nail of FIG. 10; and

[0036] FIG. 12 is a concept view illustrating buffering of the fitting nail of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIM ENTS

[0037] The present disclosure achieved and the technical problem addressed by an embodiment of the present disclosure will become obvious through exemplary embodiments described below. Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. [0038] FIG. 5 i s an exploded perspective vi ew of a connec tor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6 is a coupling perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5. As shown in these drawings, a connector 1 according to the present disclosure includes a housing 100, a contact terminal 200, an actuator 300, and a fitting nail 400. In the connector 1 having a configuration as described above, a specific circuit is mounted on a substrate 3 on which the specific circuit is printed, a connection of a cable 2 inserted into a front of one side is fixed, and the cable 2 is connected to the substrate 3 so that various signals are transmitted therebetween.

[0039] In detail, the housing 100 is a component that forms a body of the connector 1 and includes terminal insertion holes 110, and the terminal insertion holes 110 are formed to be spaced laterally at a certain interval so that a plurality of contact terminals 200 may be inserted therein and coupled thereto. The housing 100 is formed of a nonconductive synthetic resin to electrically insulate each contact terminal 200.

[0040] The contact terminal 200 is a component that electrically connects the cable 2 to the substrate 3 and is inserted into each of the terminal insertion holes 1 10 of the housing 100 to be disposed therein. In a front surface of the contact terminal 200, a cable connection portion 230 is divided into a supporting portion 210 on an upper portion thereof and a contact portion 220 on a lower portion thereof and accommodates the cable 2 in a space portion 222 formed therebetween, and in a rear surface thereof, a substrate interface portion 240 is connected to the cable connection portion 230 and protrudes downward to come into contact with the substrate 3. Accordingly, the contact terminal 200 electrically connects the cable 2 to the substrate 3 and acts as a path through which a signal is transmitted.

[0041] The cable connection portion 230 may be configured of only the contact portion 220 according to a structure of the connector, and the substrate interface portion 240 may be coupled to the substrate 3 using a surface mounting technology s or the like. Particularly, in the contact terminal 200 according to the present disclosure, a terminal buffering portion 250 having elasticity may intervene between the cable connection portion 230 and the substrate interface portion 240, and the cable connection portion 230 and the substrate interface portion 240 may be stretched to a certain distance due to the terminal buffering portion 250.

[0042] The actuator 300 is a component that brings the cable 2 into contact with the contact terminal 200 or releases the contact therebetween in the housing 00 and is coupled to the housing 100 or the fitting nail 400 to be rotatable about a rear end thereof. The actuator 300 pressurizes the cable 2 or is spaced apart from the cable 2 while pivoting reciprocally in horizontal and vertical directions. In a state in which the actuator 300 pivots in the vertical direction, the space portion 222 of the contact terminal 200 is opened in such a way that the cable 2 is inserted into the housing 100 or separated from the housing 100, and in a state in which the actuator 300 pivots in the horizontal direction, a pressurizing protrusion 330 pressurizes a top surface of the cable 2 to fix the cable 2 to the housing 100 and simultaneously bring the cable 2 into contact with the contact terminal 200.

[0043] Due to the above described pivoting operation of the actuator 300 , the cable 2 may be easily connected to and separated from the connector 1 and contact between the connected cable 2 and the contact terminal 200 is strongly maintained so that a signal may be stably transmitted between the cable 2 and the substrate 3.

[0044] Since the fitting nail 400 is a component that is fastened to the housing 00 and fixes the housing 100 to the substrate 3 and the housing 100 forms a body of the connector 1, the connector 1 is finally fixed to the substrate 3 , The fitting nail 400 for this includes a housing connection portion 430 on one side that includes a pressurizing portion 410 that pressurizes the housing 100 and a fastening portion 420 fastened to the housing 100, and a substrate joint portion 440 on the other side that is fixed to the substrate 3. In a state in which the fitting nail 400 is coupled to the substrate 3 on both sides of the housing 100 and the housing connection portion 430 is fixed and fastened to the housing 100, the substrate joint portion 440 is coupled to the substrate 3 to fix the housing 100 thereto.

[0045] The housing connection portion 430 may include the pressurizing portion 410 and the fastening portion 420, or may include any one of them, and the substrate joint portion 440 may be coupled to the substrate 3 using the surface mounting technology s and the like. Particularly, in the fitting nail 400 according to the present disclosure, a nail buffering portion 450 having elasticity may intervene between the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440 and the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440 may be stretched to a certain distance due to the nail buffering portion 450.

[0046] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a contact terminal that is a main portion of FIG. 6 in detail, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the contact terminal of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a concept view illustrating buffering of the contact terminal of FIG. 7.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the contact terminal 200 includes the cable connection portion 230 that includes the supporting portion 210 on the upper portion of the front surface thereof and the contact portion 220 on the lower portion of the front surface thereof, the substrate interface portion 240 on a lower portion of the rear surface thereof, and the terminal buffering portion 250 that connects the cable connection portion 230 to the substrate interface portion 240, in which rear ends of the supporting portion 2 0 and the contact portion 220 are connected to form the space portion 222 with an open center on the front surface.

[0048] The supporting portion 210 maintains the vertical direction of the actuator 300 when the space portion 222 is open, and the contact portion 220 comes into electrical contact with the cable 2 when the cable 2 is inserted therein.

[0049] The actuator 300 includes a first supporting protrusion 3 0 that forms a rotation shaft and performs pivoting in the horizontal and vertical directions in a state in which the first supporting protrusion 310 is inserted into a fixing groove 211 of the supporting portion 210. One surface of the first supporting protrusion 310 forms a supporting surface 312 that is flat so that the supporting surface 312 is brought into surface contact with an inner surface 212 of the fixing groove 21 1 so that a vertical state of the actuator 300 i s maintained when the actuator 300 faces the vertical direction. Also, the other surface of the first supporting protrusion 310 forms a rotating surface 311 that is a curved surface so that the actuator 300 easily pivots in the horizontal direction even through a small external force randomly applied from the outside. When the actuator 300 pivots in the horizontal direction, the pressurizing protrusion 330 fomied at a bottom surface thereof pressurizes the top surface of the cable 2 inserted into the space portion 222 to bring a bottom surface of the cable 2 into contact with the contact portion 220 and fix the cable 2 to the housing 100, As described above, a strong contact between the cable 2 and the contact terminal 200 is maintained due to the horizontal pivoting of the actuator 300. Also, the contact portion 220 may include a contact protrusion 221 formed to protrude inward from an end thereof.

[0050] The substrate interface portion 240 is a component that brings the contact terminal 200 into electrical contact with the substrate 3 to apply an electric current therebetween and is formed to protrude a certain length backward to be connected to an electrode on a top surface of the substrate 3 using the surface mounting technology s.

[0051] The terminal buffering portion 250 is a component for preventing an external force from being transferred between the cable connection portion 230 and the substrate interface portion 240, and connects the cable connection portion 230 to the substrate interface portion 240 while having one or more curved portions. When an external force is applied to the cable 2 while the contact terminal 200 i s connected to the cable 2, the external force is wholly transferred to the contact portion 220 because the cable 2 is in contact with the contact portion 220 due to the actuator 300. However, since the external force transferred to the contact portion 220 is absorbed by the terminal buffering portion 250 and is not transferred to the substrate interface portion 240, the substrate interface portion 240 is not influenced by the external force. Particularly, since the terminal buffering portion 250 connects the contact portion 220 to the substrate interface portion 240 in a direction in which the cable 2 is inserted, the external force applied in the direction in which the cable 2 is inserted may be effectively prevented.

[0052] The terminal buffering portion 250 for this may include a first linear portion 251 toward which an end of the substrate interface portion 240 upwardly extends, a first curved surface portion 252 at which a direction of an end of the first linear portion is changed, and a connection portion 255 that extends from an end of the first curved surface portion and is connected to the contact portion 220 and the supporting portion 210, and may further include a second linear portion 253 at which the end of the first curved surface portion 252 extends downward between the first curved surface portion 252 and the connection portion 255, and a second curved surface portion 254 at which an end of the second linear portion is changed in direction and connected to the connection portion 255. That is, the terminal buffering portion 250 is configured to have at least one or more curved surface portions 252 and 254 and connect the cable connection portion 230 to the substrate interface portion 240, Since an elastic stretching operation is available due to a spring back phenomenon that occurs in a curved surface structure, the terminal buffering portion 250 has at least one or more curved surface portions.

[0053] The terminal buffering portion 250 is configured to position a top end portion thereof at a height that is lower than a top end portion of the cable connection portion 230. That is, the first curved surface portion 252 of the terminal buffering portion 250 is formed at a lower height to form a certain step h and expose a top end of the supporting portion 210 of the cable connection portion 230 backward. Since the contact terminal 200 is coupled to the terminal insertion hole 10 of the housing 100 when the rear of the supporting portion 210 is pressurized, a top end of the first curved surface portion 252 is located at a height lower than the top end of the supporting portion 210 to expose the supporting portion 210 backward so as not to interfere with a process in which the contact terminal 200 is coupled to the housing 100.

[0054] When an external force is applied in a direction from the cable connection portion 230 toward the substrate interface portion 240 or in an opposite direction thereof as shown in FIG. 9, the terminal buffering portion 250 having the above described configuration is stretched in the direction of the external force with the substrate interface portion 240 as an axis due to the elasticity thereof in such a way that an influence of the external force is barely transferred to the substrate interface portion 240 fixed to the substrate 3. Also, the terminal buffering portion 250 returns to an original state due to the elasticity thereof when the external force disappears. Coupling between the substrate interface portion and the substrate may be stably maintained even when an external force is applied to the cable connection portion as described above since the external force is absorbed by the terminal buffering portion and not transferred to the substrate interface portion.

[0055] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a fitting nail that is a main portion of FIG. 6 in detail, FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the fitting nail of FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a concept view illustrating buffering of the fitting nail of FIG. 10.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 1 1 , the fitting nail 400 of the present disclosure includes the housing connection portion 430 including the pressurizing portion 410 and the fastening portion 420 thereinside, the substrate joint portion 440 that protrudes toward an outer bottom end thereof, and the nail buffering portion 450 that connects the housing connection portion 430 to the substrate joint portion 440. The above described fitting nail 400 pressurizes the housing 100 on both sides of the housing 100 and is coupled to the substrate 3, and the housing connection portion 430 is positioned inside the housing and the substrate joint portion 440 is positioned outside the housing in such a way that the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440 are disposed at both sides of the direction in which the cable 2 is inserted,

[0057] The pressurizing portion 410 is a component that pressurizes the housing 100 so that the housing 100 does not separate from the fitting nail 400 and pressurizes the housing 100 from a side portion thereof while in direct contact with a top surface of the housing or pressurizes the housing 100 while in contact with the actuator 300. Also, the pressurizing portion 410 may include a supporting step 411 with an end bent downward to fix the actuator 300. In the actuator 300, a second supporting protrusion 320 corresponding to the supporting step 41 1 is fonned at a side portion thereof in such a way that the second supporting protrusion 320 is held by the supporting step 411 and remains horizontal after pivoting in the horizontal direction. The pressurizing portion 410 is configured to pressurize the top surface of the housing, but may be configured to pressurize the side portion of the housing. Here, the second supporting protrusion 320 and the supporting step 411 for fixing the actuator 300 may be formed in different positions.

[0058] The fastening portion 420 is a component that is integrated with and fastened to the housing so that the housing 100 does not separate from the fitting nail 400, protrudes at the rear surface of the pressurizing portion 410, and is inserted into and fastened to the housing 100 to prevent a movement between the fastening portion 420 and the housing 100.

[0059] The substrate joint portion 440 is a component that fixes the fitting nail 400 to the substrate 3, may extend outward from a bottom end of the nail buffering portion 450, and may be coupled to the top surface of the substrate 3 using the surface mounting technology s.

[0060] The nail buffering portion 450 is a component for obstructing an external force that is transferred between the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440, and is configured to connect the housing connection portion 430 to the substrate joint portion 440 using a hemming & bending structure. When an external force is applied to the cable 2 while the fitting nail 400 is connected to the cable 2, the external force is wholly transferred to the housing connection portion 430 through the housing 100 because the cable 2 is fixed to the housing 100 due to the actuator 300. However, since the external force transferred to the housing connection portion 430 is absorbed by the nail buffering portion 450 and is not transferred to the substrate joint portion 440, the substrate joint portion 440 is not influenced by the external force. Particularly, since the nail buffering portion 450 connects the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440 to both sides of the direction in which the cable 2 is inserted, the external force applied to both sides of a direction in which the cable 2 is connected may be effectively blocked.

[0061] The nail buffering portion 450 for this, as shown in FIG. 11, may include a first linear portion 451 toward which an end of the substrate joint portion 440 upwardly extends, a first curved surface portion 452 at which a direction of an end of the first linear portion is changed, and a connection portion 455 at which an end of the first curved surface portion extends downward and is connected to the housing connection portion, and may further include a second linear portion 453 at which the end of the first curved surface portion 452 extends downward between the first curved surface portion 452 and the connection portion 455, and a second curved surface portion 454 at which an end of the second linear portion is changed in direction and connected to the connection portion 455. That is, the nail buffering portion 450 is configured to have at least one or more curved surface portions 452 and 454 and connect the housing connection portion 430 to the substrate joint portion 440.

[0062] When an external force is applied in a direction from the housing connection portion 430 toward the substrate joint portion 440 or in an opposite direction thereof as shown in FIG. 12, the nail buffering portion 450 having the above described configuration is stretched in the direction of the external force with the substrate joint portion 440 as an axis due to the elasticity thereof in such a way that an influence of the external force is barely transferred to the substrate joint portion 440 fixed to the substrate 3. Also, the nail buffering portion 450 returns to an original state due to the elasticity thereof when the external force disappears. Stable coupling between the substrate joint portion and the substrate may be maintained even when an external force is applied to the housing connection portion as described above since the external force is absorbed by the nail buffering portion and not transferred to the substrate joint portion.

[0063] Also, at the nail buffering portion 450, a concave portion 45 having a certain width may be formed with a relatively narrow width so that a stretching operation is more smoothly performed by an external force between the housing connection portion 430 and the substrate joint portion 440. The concave portion 45 V may be formed by concavely depressing both lateral sides of the nail buffering portion 450 inward, and may be formed at any position of the linear portion or the curved surface portion, and there may be one or more concave portions 45 Γ formed. The concave portion 45 is formed with a relatively narrow width and shows flection or rotational properties with respect to a width direction. Accordingly, the concave portion 451 ' may be bent or rotated in the width direction with respect to an external force transferred in the direction in which the cable 2 is inserted (an x direction) or in a direction similar thereto to effectively prevent the external force from being transferred to the substrate joint portion 440.

[0064] As described above, in the connector according to the present disclosure, even when an external force applied to the cable is transferred to the connector, defective coupling between the contact terminal and the substrate and between the fitting nail and the substrate may be prevented because the external force is blocked by the terminal buffering portion and the nail buffering portion. Although the embodiment of the present disclosure have been described as an example, it should be appreciated that various modifications and equivalents thereof may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. A connector for a flexible circuit cable, the connector comprising:

a housing comprising a plurality of terminal insertion holes;

a contact terminal comprising a cable connection portion that protrudes forward and into which a cable is inserted, a terminal buffering portion that has at least one curved surface portion and extends from the cable connection portion, and a substrate interface portion that extends from the terminal buffering portion to come into contact with a substrate and be coupled to the terminal insertion hole;

an actuator that brings the cable inserted into the contact terminal into contact with the cable connection portion or releases the contact therebetween by being hinge-pivoted; and a fitting nail comprising a housing connection portion that is in contact with the housing and fixing the housing to the substrate.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the terminal buffering portion comprises: a first linear portion that extends upward from the substrate interface portion;

a first curved surface portion at which a direction of an end of the first linear portion is changed; and

a connection portion that extends from an end of the first curved surface portion and is connected to the cable connection portion.

3. The connector of claim 2, wherein the terminal buffering portion further comprises:

a second linear portion at which the end of the first curved surface portion extends downward; and

a second curved surface portion at which an end of the second linear portion is changed in direction and connected to the connection portion.

4. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the cable connection portion comprises a supporting portion on an upper portion thereof, a contact portion on a lower portion thereof and with a rear side connected to the supporting portion, and a space portion that accommodates the cable between the supporting portion and the contact portion.

5. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the terminal buffering portion is configured to position a top end thereof at a height that is lower than a top end of the cable connection portion.

6. A connector for a flexible circuit cable, the connector comprising:

a housing comprising a plurality of terminal insertion holes;

a contact terminal comprising a cable connection portion that protrudes forward and into which a cable is inserted and coupled to the terminal insertion hole to come into contact with a substrate;

an actuator that brings the cable inserted into the contact terminal into contact with the cable connection portion or releases the contact therebetween by being hinge-pivoted; and a fitting nail comprising a housing connection portion that is in contact with the housing, a nail buffering portion that has at least one curved surface portion and extends from the housing connection portion, and a substrate joint portion that extends from the nail buffering portion to come into contact with the substrate, and fixing the housing to the substrate,

7. The connector of claim 6, wherein the nail buffering portion comprises:

a first linear portion that extends upward from the substrate joint portion;

a first curved surface portion at which a direction of the first linear portion is changed; and

a connection portion that extends from an end of the first curved surface portion and is connected to the housing connection portion.

8. The connector of claim 7, wherein the nail buffering portion further comprises: a second linear portion at which the end of the first curved surface portion extends downward; and

9. The connector of claim 7, wherein the nail buffering portion comprises a concave portion having a relatively narrow width due to a lateral side portion thereof being depressed inward.

10. The connector of claim 6, wherein the housing connection portion comprises at least one of a pressurizing portion that pressurizes a top surface of the housing and a fastening portion that protrudes backward from the pressurizing portion and is fastened to the housing.