JP2817083B2 - Connector structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector structure, and more specifically, to a flexible flat cable board (FFC) formed by covering a plurality of rectangular conductors arranged in parallel with each other with an insulating resin. Related to the connector structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Flexible flat cables such as the above-mentioned flexible flat cable board (FFC) and a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) formed by baking an electric conductor on an insulative film body are arranged in a narrow place due to their structures. As a wire harness that connects between the electrical parts of the car body and the door, as a cable that enables ropes and can be applied to movable parts because of its flexible property,
Alternatively, due to its multi-core structure, it is frequently used as an interconnecting input / output device of a computer system. In the meantime, since these flexible cables have flexibility as described above, it is necessary that the terminals of the flexible cables be rigidly connected to terminals. In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the terminal is formed by attaching an end of the cable 1 with the conductor 2 exposed to a holder 3 which is a rigid plate-shaped member.
The terminalized cable 1 is inserted into the housing 4 together with the holder 3 through an opening 5 formed on the front surface of the connector housing 4, and the connector housing 4 is
By pressing the spring piece 10a of the elastic connection terminal 10 housed therein, electrical continuity is achieved.

[0005] The manner in which the ends of the cable 1 are turned into terminals will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The cable 1 has a plurality of protruding surfaces formed on a substantially flat holder 3. The fixing pin 3a is integrated by inserting a position regulating mounting hole 1a formed between conductors of the cable 1 into the fixing pin 3a.
Alternatively, the cable 1 is integrated with the holder 3 by an adhesive. Such an integrated structure is also necessary to prevent the cable 1 from coming out of the housing due to a tensile load acting on the cable 1 in the direction of the arrow when the cable 1 is connected to the connector.

However, the above-mentioned conventional structure integrates the plurality of fixing pins 3a and the mounting holes 1a by bonding or bonding them together, which is preferable in terms of poor assembly workability and manufacturing cost. I could not say it. Further, in the above-described conventional structure, the water droplets generated due to condensation or the like travel between adjacent conductors (see arrow H in FIG. 6).
b, causing a leakage current between the conductors, possibly deteriorating the electrical connection performance.

The cable 1 is arranged between the holder 3 and the holder guide 7 in a connector structure composed of a combination of the holder 3 and the holder guide 7 as shown in FIG. It has been proposed that the leading end can be turned into a terminal by being bent so as to be wound around a comb-shaped portion of the holder 3 and held tightly. With such a structure, the cable 1
The tensile load acting on the wire can be absorbed by the bent portion, and the leakage current generated in the dew condensation environment can be prevented well by the separating structure between the conductors formed corresponding to the comb-shaped holder 3. Was done.

However, in the above configuration, since the conductor 2 bent at the end of the cable is provided in an exposed state where it comes out to the outside, it is dropped on the floor or the like at the time of assembling or transporting the connector. When the conductor 2 receives an impact, depending on the bending accuracy of the cable, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a floating 8 occurred between the holder 3 and the conductor 2. In particular, when the conductor 2 was thick and rigid, the occurrence of the floating 8 became remarkable. When such a floating 8 occurs, the contact pressure of the elastic connection terminal 10 with respect to the spring piece 10a is increased, and the elastic deformation of the terminal 10 causes plastic deformation of the terminal 10, thereby deteriorating the connection performance. Therefore, the connector may not be able to obtain stable connection performance. The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-described circumstances, and the terminal of the flexible flat cable is formed into a terminal to enable connector connection, and the conductor exposed portion is protected from external impact. It is to provide a connector structure which can obtain stable connection performance.

[0006]

That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible substantially sheet-like cable formed by insulatingly covering a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval from each other. A connector structure in which the exposed end of the conductor is fitted into an opening formed in a connector housing and pressed into contact with a plurality of elastic connection terminals housed in the housing to connect the cable, A holder and a holder guide, wherein the holder guide is provided integrally with a hold pin that protrudes from the holder guide and that protects an end of the cable that is pressed into contact with the elastic connection terminal ; The gap between the conductors
Provided substantially in the shape of a comb having slits that substantially coincide with each other,
This is achieved by a connector structure characterized by holding a conductor .

[0007]

According to the present invention, the end of the cable, which is held in close contact between the holder and the holder guide and is exposed through the holder guide, has a hold pin for protecting the end of the cable, which is integrally provided with the holder guide. It is not deformed by external impacts such as dropping. In addition, since the holder and the holder guide are configured to hold the cable in a bent state, the holder and the holder guide can cope with a tensile load acting on the cable, and it is possible to suitably prevent the cable from coming off. Furthermore, since the connector housing is provided with a partition for forming a terminal accommodating chamber and engaging with a slit formed in the holder to block the flow of water droplets between the terminals, the occurrence of leakage current can be prevented. .

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the connector.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view in a state where the holder and the holder guide shown in FIG. 1 are combined. FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which the holder and the holder guide are separated and viewed from the back side.

The connector structure of the present embodiment holds a connector housing 20 into which a plurality of elastic connection terminals 10 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) are inserted and locked, and a cable 50 described later. And a holder 30 and a holder guide 40 which are fitted into the housing 20 through an opening 21 formed in the front surface of the connector housing 20. The housing 20 is formed of an insulating resin material into a substantially rectangular body and has a plurality of elastic connection terminals 1 inserted from the rear end side.
0 are individually configured to be accommodated therein. That is, the terminal accommodating chamber 22 is provided with a partition wall 25 communicating the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 of the housing 20.
Is formed by dividing the space in the housing into a plurality of chambers. The partition wall 25 is connected to the opening 21.

[0010] The elastic connection terminals 10 are provided as in the conventional structure, a low-pressure electric wire 11 is connected to other equipment is connected <br/> crimping, by inserting into the housing 20, The locking portion 10 a engages with a locking step (not shown) in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 and is fixed in the housing 20. In this embodiment, a flexible flat cable is applied to the cable 50, which will be described later in detail.
The holder 30 and the holder guide 40 closely hold the holder. This cable 50 is formed by covering a plurality of rectangular conductors 51 arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval from each other with an insulating resin 52 from both sides. The cable end 50a that comes into pressure contact with the elastic connection terminal 10 is bent in advance, and the insulating resin 52 is peeled off at the cable end 50a to form a gap 5 between adjacent conductors.
3 is formed.

The holder 30 is provided in a substantially comb shape having a slit 31 having a shape substantially coinciding with the gap 53 between the conductors of the cable 50, and a portion corresponding to the base of the comb teeth is provided on one surface. The terminal storage part 32 is formed by folding back to the side. As shown in FIG. 3, positioning ribs 33 for restricting the position of the cable 50 are provided at respective positions corresponding to the back side of the terminal storage section 32 and corresponding to the bases of the slits 31. Have been. Further, on the side walls 34 erected on both sides of the holder 30,
A fixing recess 35 is provided that can lock a rotating body 42 of a holder guide 40 described below in a closed state.

Returning to FIG. 1, the holder guide 40
A main body portion 41 inserted into the housing 20 through the opening portion 21; and the rotation member rotatably pivotally attached to the main body portion 41 and partially inserted into the housing 20 in a closed state. And a body 42. The holder guide 40 is further provided integrally with a hold pin 60, which is a characteristic feature of the present invention, protruding toward the opening 21 from both ends of the main body 41. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the hold pin 60 has a lengthwise direction with respect to a cable end 50a projecting from the holder guide 40 in a state where the holder 30 and the holder guide 40 are fitted. And each dimension in the bent thickness direction is provided for L> l and T> t. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotator 42 has a holder holding portion 43 for holding the holder 30 in a rotation area thereof, and a groove 44 on the inner wall surface of which the positioning rib 33 of the holder 30 is engaged. And a convex portion 45 which is press-fitted between the conductors of the cable 50 in communication with the groove portion 44. Further, at both ends of the rotating body 42, fixed projections 46 are provided which engage with the fixing recesses 35 of the holder 30 when closed.

On the other hand, the fixed insertion portion 4 is
7 are provided, and the fixed insertion portion 47 is individually inserted in a state where the comb-shaped portion of the holder 30 is clamped by the cable end portion 50a bent in advance. Consists of That is, the fixed insertion portion 4
The inside 7 is partitioned by a partition wall 48 that engages with the slit 31 of the holder 30 when the holder 30 is inserted for integration. Further, on both sides of the main body portion 41, lock pieces 49 which are supported in a cantilever shape and have a free end extended rearward are provided. Piece 4
9 is provided so as to be able to engage with an engagement hole 27 formed in the side wall 26 of the housing 20.

Next, the manner in which the cable 50 is closely held by the holder 30 and the holder guide 40, and the cable end 50a which is formed into a terminal after the holder 30 and the holder guide 40 are integrally combined. The state in which is inserted into the housing 20 will be sequentially described. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the cable 50 is provided with the cable end 50a bent in advance, and the conductor 51 is exposed at the cable end 50a. The holder 30 has a comb-shaped portion inserted into a cable end portion 50a that is bent in advance. In other words, the holder 30 is provided so that the holder 30 is sandwiched by the end portion 50a. I have. In such a state, the positioning ribs 33 (see FIG. 3) of the holder 30 are disposed between the gaps 53 of the cable ends 50a to regulate the position of the cable 50 at a predetermined position.
The slit 31 of the holder 30 is aligned with the gap 53 formed at the cable end 50a. The terminal storage portion 32 of the holder 30 has a bent cable 5.
0 is accommodated.

The holder 30 is integrated with the holder guide 40 after the cable 50 is locked in the temporarily fixed state. That is, the holder 30 is disposed in the holder holding portion 43 with the rotating body 42 of the holder guide 40 in an inverted open state as shown in FIG.
The comb-shaped portion of the holder 30 is inserted into the fixed insertion portion 47. At that time, the partition wall 48 of the fixed insertion portion 47 enters the slit 31 of the holder 30. On the other hand, the comb-shaped portion of the holder 30 is exposed from the front side of the holder guide 40 through the fixed insertion portion 47. Thereafter, the rotating body 42 is rotated to the front side indicated by an arrow P in the figure, and the fixed projection 46 is locked in the fixing recess 35 to be fixed in a closed state. When the rotating body 42 is provided in the closed state, the holder guide 40 integrally holds the holder 30 as shown in FIG. 2 and tightly fixes the cable 50 between the holder 30 and the holder 50. . In this state, the hold pin 60
Protects the cable end 50a exposed from the holder guide 40 from external impact. The rotating body 42 has the convex portions 45 arranged between the conductors of the cable 50 and presses the cable 50 against the holder surface.
The projections 45 are located between the conductors of the cable 50 to block the flow of water droplets traveling between the conductors and trying to enter the connector.

Next, the hold pin 60 and the exposed cable end 50a are inserted into the housing 20 from the opening 21 and fitted to the housing 20. At this time, the hold pin 60 also serves as a guide member that acts so as not to apply an excessive external force to the cable end portion 50a that has been turned into a terminal when the cable end portion is twisted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22. Also, the partition 25 of the housing 20
Enters the gap 53 between the conductors 51 formed at the cable end 50 a and the slit 31 of the holder 30. As a result, the holder guide 40 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 of the housing 20, and the conductors 51 exposed at the cable end 50 a press the elastic connection terminals 10 in the housing 20. Electrical conduction is achieved. When the holder guide 40 is inserted into the housing 20, the lock piece 49 is elastically deformed so that the locking projection 49 a is fitted into the engagement hole 27 of the housing 20, and cannot be detached from the housing 20. Is combined with Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a flexible flat cable is described. However, the present invention can be applied to all flexible cables such as a flexible printed circuit body and a ribbon electric wire. It is not limited to harness.

[0017]

As described above, according to the connector structure of the present invention, the hold pin provided on the holder guide protects the terminal end of the cable.
Alternatively, the influence of an external force acting on the cable end during transport can be reduced. In addition, the holder guide can protect the end of the cable with a simple structure. In addition, the hold pin guides the cable end so as not to apply an excessive external force to the cable end against a twist generated when the cable end is fitted to the housing at the same time as protecting the cable end. A stable connection performance between the end and the elastic connection terminal is realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of a connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 in a combined state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the holder and the holder guide shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a connector showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a connection state between a cable and a holder according to a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in a coupled state of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another conventional connector.

8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of a cable end in the connector of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Elastic connection terminal 20 Connector housing 21 Opening 22 Terminal accommodating chamber 25 Partition wall 30 Holder 31 Slit 32 Terminal storing part 33 Positioning rib 35 Fixing recess 40 Holder guide 41 Main body part 42 Rotating body 43 Holder holding part 46 Fixed convex part 47 Fixed Insertion part 48 Hold pin 50 Cable 50a Cable end 51 Conductor 53 Clearance

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP2-16587 (JP, U) JP2 129694 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01R 23/66-23/68

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector housing having a flexible, substantially sheet-like cable formed by insulatingly coating a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval from each other and exposing said conductors to a connector housing. A connector structure that fits into the formed opening and presses and connects to a plurality of elastic connection terminals housed in the housing, the holder structure including a holder and a holder guide that hold the cable in close contact, and the holder guide Is integrally provided with a hold pin that protrudes from the holder guide and protects an end of the cable that is pressed into contact with the elastic connection terminal, and the holder is provided between conductors of the cable.
It is provided in a substantially comb-like shape with a slit that approximately matches the gap
A connector structure characterized by holding the conductor by a connector.