WO2023210319A1

WO2023210319A1 - Connector

Info

Publication number: WO2023210319A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/014516
Authority: WO
Inventors: ピパッタナパーティウッティパット
Original assignee: 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所; 住友電装株式会社; 住友電気工業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-27
Filing date: 2023-04-10
Publication date: 2023-11-02
Also published as: JP2023162769A

Abstract

The present invention can effectively suppress a load caused in a conductive path provided in a flexible cable.　A connector (10) comprises a housing (20) and a flexible cable (30) which is assembled to the housing (20). The housing (20) includes a boss pin (52) which is assembled to the flexible cable (30). The flexible cable (30) includes a body part (31), a first constituent part (60) which extends in a tip-end direction from the body part (31) and on which a conductive path is routed, and a second constituent part (70) which extends in the tip-end direction from the body part (31) and which is assembled to the boss pin (52). The first constituent part (60) and the second constituent part (70) are disposed parallel to each other in an individually stretchable manner.

Description

connector

The present disclosure relates to a connector.

Patent Document 1 discloses a connector in which a flexible cable is attached to a housing. A plurality of terminal fittings connected to the ends of the flexible cable are housed in the housing. A reinforcing hole provided in the flexible cable is fitted into a boss pin provided in the housing, thereby preventing displacement of the flexible cable with respect to the housing.

International Publication No. 2019/188738

In the configuration of the connector as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a tensile force acts on the flexible cable, it is assumed that a load is applied to the portion of the flexible cable where the conductive path is provided. In such cases, there is a need for a configuration that can effectively suppress the load.

The present disclosure was completed based on the above circumstances, and can effectively suppress the load generated on the conductive path provided in the flexible cable.

The connector of the present disclosure includes:
housing and
a flexible cable assembled to the housing;
Equipped with
The housing has a boss pin assembled to the flexible cable,
The flexible cable is
The main body and
a first component extending from the main body toward the distal end and having a conductive path routed therein;
a second component that extends from the main body toward the distal end and is assembled to the boss pin;
has
The first component and the second component are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually.

According to the present disclosure, the load generated on the conductive path provided in the flexible cable can be effectively suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the flexible cable seen from below. FIG. 4 is a side view of the connector. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a cut plane passing through the right boss pin. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a cut plane passing through the left boss pin.

[Description of embodiments of the present disclosure]
In the following, embodiments of the disclosure are listed and illustrated.

[1] Housing,
a flexible cable assembled to the housing;
Equipped with
The housing has a boss pin assembled to the flexible cable,
The flexible cable is
The main body and
a first component extending from the main body toward the distal end and having a conductive path routed therein;
a second component that extends from the main body toward the distal end and is assembled to the boss pin;
has
A connector in which the first component and the second component are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually.

In the above connector [1], the first component and the second component of the flexible cable are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually. Therefore, when a tensile force is applied to the second component due to a tensile force applied to the main body of the flexible cable, the tensile force is less likely to be generated in the first component, and the conductive path provided in the first component is It is possible to effectively suppress the load generated on the vehicle.

[2] In the above connector,
A plurality of the conductive paths are arranged in parallel in the first component,
The first component and the second component are arranged in parallel in the parallel direction of the plurality of conductive paths.

In the connector [2] above, the first component and the second component, which are arranged in parallel in the parallel direction of the plurality of conductive paths, can be easily formed by cutting the flexible cable or the like.

[3] In the above connector,
The boss pin is exposed to the outside of the housing.

In the connector [3] above, when the boss pin and the second component are disassembled due to a tensile force being applied to the main body of the flexible cable, it can be visually confirmed.

[4] In the above connector,
The first component includes a bent portion that is bent relative to the main body when the second component is assembled to the boss pin.

In the above connector [4], the first component can have an extra length due to the bent portion, and the tensile force generated in the first component can be easily absorbed.

[5] In the above connector,
A reinforcing plate is provided only in a portion of the flexible cable excluding the first component.

In the above connector [5], since the first component is not provided with a reinforcing plate, it is easily deformed and a bent portion is easily formed.

[Details of embodiments of the present disclosure]
[Example 1]
A first embodiment of the connector of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims. In the first embodiment, regarding the front-rear direction, the left side in FIGS. 4 to 6 is defined as the front, and the right side is defined as the rear. Regarding the vertical direction, the directions shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are directly defined as upward and downward. Regarding the left and right directions, the diagonally upper right side in FIG. 1 is defined as the left side, and the diagonally lower left side is defined as the right side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 10 of the first embodiment includes a housing 20, a flexible cable 30, and a terminal fitting 90 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The flexible cable 30 is connected to a terminal fitting 90 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and assembled into the housing 20.

The housing 20 includes a lower housing 40 and an upper housing 50. The housing 20 is constructed by combining a lower housing 40 and an upper housing 50.

The lower housing 40 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower housing 40 has a flat shape that is long in the left-right direction. The lower housing 40 is provided with a plurality of terminal accommodating recesses 41. The terminal accommodating recess 41 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The plurality of terminal accommodating recesses 41 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction. A plurality of terminal insertion holes 42 are provided at the front end of the lower housing 40, respectively corresponding to the plurality of terminal accommodating recesses 41 and penetrating in the front-rear direction.

The upper housing 50 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper housing 50 has a flat shape in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right flat portions 51 are provided on the rear end side of the upper surface of the upper housing 50. As shown in FIG. The flat portion 51 has a horizontal exposed surface facing upward. A boss pin 52 is provided on the flat portion 51. The pair of left and right boss pins 52 are arranged in the upper housing 50 at positions that overlap in the left and right direction. The boss pin 52 is exposed to the outside of the housing 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the boss pin 52 is assembled to the flexible cable 30. The boss pin 52 projects upward from the exposed surface of the flat portion 51. As shown in FIG. 5, the boss pin 52 has a column portion 53 and an extension portion 54. The column portion 53 has a cylindrical shape extending upward from the flat portion 51. The extending portion 54 extends rearward from the tip of the column portion 53. The tip of the extending portion 54 has a curved shape that is convex toward the rear in plan view. The lower surface of the extending portion 54 is a horizontal surface.

As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 20 is provided with a slit-shaped opening 21 formed by the rear end of the lower housing 40 and the rear end of the upper housing 50. The opening 21 has an elongated shape in the left-right direction. A connection end 32 of a flexible cable 30, which will be described later, is inserted through the opening 21. In the housing 20, a flat portion 51 and a boss pin 52 are provided above the opening 21 (on the upper housing 50 side).

The flexible cable 30 has conductive paths and circuits formed on a base film that is a thin, flexible insulator. Specific examples of the flexible cable 30 include flexible printed circuits and flexible flat cables. A plurality of terminal fittings 90 are connected to the front end of the flexible cable 30 by welding or the like.

The flexible cable 30 has a main body 31 , a first component 60 , a pair of second components 70 , and a connecting end 32 . The main body portion 31 constitutes a portion on the rear end side of the flexible cable 30 (the side opposite to the portion to which the terminal fitting 90 is connected). A plurality of conductive paths (not shown) are wired in the main body portion 31 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the first component 60 projects from the main body 31 in the distal direction (forward) before being assembled to the housing 20. A plurality of conductive paths (not shown) are wired in the first component 60. For example, a plurality of conductive paths (not shown) are arranged in the first component 60 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. A plurality of conductive paths (not shown) wired in the first component 60 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction.

The connecting end 32 protrudes from the first component 60 in the distal direction (forward). The connecting end portion 32 is wider in the left-right direction than the first component portion 60. The width of the connection end portion 32 in the left-right direction is the same as the width of the portion of the flexible cable 30 where the first component 60 and the pair of second components 70 are lined up. A plurality of comb-like tip portions 33 are provided at the tip of the connection end portion 32 . A terminal fitting 90 is connected to the tip portion 33 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of second constituent parts 70 are juxtaposed with the first constituent part 60 in the left-right direction and protrude from the main body part 31 in the distal direction (forward) in a state before being assembled to the housing 20. . The pair of second constituent parts 70 are arranged on both left and right sides of the first constituent part 60. In the second component 70, no conductive path is wired. The second component 70 is assembled to the boss pin 52.

The second component 70 is provided with a pair of locking holes 71 that respectively lock the pair of boss pins 52 . The locking hole 71 is provided at the tip (front end) of the second component 70.

The main body portion 31, the first component portion 60, the pair of second component portions 70, and the connection end portion 32 can be formed by making a pair of L-shaped cuts 35 in a rectangular flexible cable. Before being assembled into the housing 20, the pair of second constituent parts 70 sandwich the first constituent part 60 in the parallel direction (left and right direction) of the plurality of conductive paths (not shown) of the first constituent part 60. placed on both sides. The first component 60 and the second component 70 are separated from each other. The first component 60 and the second component 70 are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually. Therefore, when a tensile force is applied to the second component 70 due to a tensile force applied to the main body 31, the tensile force is less likely to be generated in the first component 60, and the conductive The load generated on the road can be effectively suppressed.

Since the boss pin 52 is exposed to the outside of the housing 20, it becomes easy to visually confirm changes in the state of assembly with the second component 70. For example, it is possible to visually determine whether the second component 70 is properly assembled to the boss pin 52 or whether the second component 70 is detached from the boss pin 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, a reinforcing plate 80 is provided only in a portion of the flexible cable 30 excluding the first component 60. That is, the reinforcing plate 80 is provided on the main body portion 31, the pair of second constituent portions 70, and the connecting end portion 32. The reinforcing plate 80 is arranged on the lower surface of each of the main body part 31, the pair of second constituent parts 70, and the connecting end part 32.

Next, the assembly process of the connector 10 will be explained. First, the connecting end 32 of the flexible cable 30 to which the terminal fitting 90 is connected is placed inside the lower housing 40. Subsequently, the upper housing 50 is assembled to the lower housing 40. As a result, the housing 20 is formed, and the plurality of tip portions 33 of the connection end portions 32 and the terminal fittings 90 are accommodated in the housing 20. The rear end of the connection end 32 and the first component 60 and second component 70 are located further back than the opening 21 of the housing 20 .

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the locking holes 71 of the pair of second components 70 are respectively locked to the pair of boss pins 52. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the plate surfaces of the pair of second components 70 are kept horizontal and are located on the same plane as the main body 31. As shown in FIGS. The pair of second components 70 are not bent. The first component 60 is disposed below the main body 31 and the second component 70 . The first component 60 and the second component 70 constitute a step. The first component 60 includes a bent portion 61 that is bent relative to the main body 31 when the second component 70 is assembled to the boss pin 52 . Specifically, the bent portion 61 slopes downward toward the front.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the connecting end 32 is positioned one step lower than the main body 31 and the second component 70. The plate surface of the connecting end portion 32 is arranged parallel to the plate surface of the main body portion 31 and the plate surface of the second component 70 .

As described above, the connector 10 of the present disclosure has a configuration in which the first component 60 and the second component 70 of the flexible cable 30 are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually. Therefore, when a tensile force acts on the second component 70 due to a tensile force acting on the main body 31 of the flexible cable 30, the tensile force is less likely to be generated on the first component 60, and the first component 60 It is possible to effectively suppress the load generated on the conductive path provided in the. In addition, since the first component 60 and the second component 70 are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually, the first component 60 can absorb dimensional tolerances of the flexible cable 30 and deformation during heat contraction. It is possible to effectively suppress the load generated on the conductive path provided in the.

Furthermore, in the connector 10 of the present disclosure, a plurality of conductive paths are arranged in parallel in the first component 60. The first component 60 and the second component 70 are arranged in parallel in the parallel direction of the plurality of conductive paths. Thereby, in the connector 10, the first component 60 and the second component 70 can be easily formed by cutting the flexible cable or the like. Furthermore, compared to a configuration in which the first component 60 and the second component 70 are vertically branched, there is no need to separately provide a branching member.

Furthermore, in the connector 10 of the present disclosure, the boss pin 52 is exposed to the outside of the housing 20. Thereby, when the boss pin 52 and the second component 70 are disassembled due to a tensile force acting on the main body 31 of the flexible cable 30, it can be visually confirmed.

Furthermore, in the connector 10 of the present disclosure, the first component 60 includes a bent portion 61 that is bent relative to the main body 31 when the second component 70 is assembled to the boss pin 52. As a result, the first component 60 can have an extra length due to the bent portion 61, and the tensile force generated in the first component 60 can be easily absorbed.

Further, in the connector 10 of the present disclosure, the reinforcing plate 80 is provided only in the portion of the flexible cable 30 excluding the first component 60. Thereby, since the reinforcing plate 80 is not provided, the first component 60 is easily deformed and the bent portion 61 is easily formed.

[Other Examples]
The invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated in the above description and the drawings, but is indicated by the claims. The present invention includes meanings equivalent to the scope of the claims and all changes within the scope of the claims, and is intended to include the following embodiments.

In the first embodiment, the bent portion 61 of the first component 60 slopes downward toward the front, but may have a shape that slopes upward toward the front, a shape that is convex in the vertical direction, a wave shape, etc. It may be.

In the first embodiment, the second component 70 is integrally formed with the main body 31, but it may be assembled into the main body 31 as a separate member from the main body 31.

In the first embodiment, the housing 20 has a divided structure of the lower housing 40 and the upper housing 50, but may have an integral structure.

In the first embodiment, the tip (extending portion 54) of the boss pin 52 has a shape that projects rearward, but it may have an umbrella shape that projects all around the axis.

10...Connector 20...Housing 21...Opening part 30...Flexible cable 31...Body part 32...Connecting end part 33...Tip part 35...Notch 40...Lower housing 41...Terminal receiving recess 42...Terminal insertion hole 50...Upper housing 51... Flat part 52... Boss pin 53... Pillar part 54... Extension part 60... First component part 61... Bent part 70... Second component part 71... Locking hole 80... Reinforcement plate 90... Terminal fitting

Claims

housing and
a flexible cable assembled to the housing;
Equipped with
The housing has a boss pin assembled to the flexible cable,
The flexible cable is
The main body and
a first component extending from the main body toward the distal end and having a conductive path routed therein;
a second component that extends from the main body toward the distal end and is assembled to the boss pin;
has
A connector in which the first component and the second component are arranged in parallel so that they can be expanded and contracted individually.
A plurality of the conductive paths are arranged in parallel in the first component,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first component and the second component are arranged in parallel in a parallel direction of the plurality of conductive paths.
The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the boss pin is exposed to the outside of the housing.
3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first component includes a bent portion that is bent relative to the main body when the second component is assembled to the boss pin.
The connector according to claim 4, wherein a reinforcing plate is provided only in a portion of the flexible cable excluding the first component.