JPH11329619A - Connector for connecting fpc - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance reliability of a connector by providing an insert feel of an FPC so as to prevent half fitting of the FPC, preventing fitting operation from being forgotten, eliminating a deviation between the FPC and a housing so as to prevent inclination, preventing deficient connection of the connector, and preventing a tip end of the FPC being turned over. SOLUTION: An opening groove 11 is formed at a base housing 10 to be mounted on a printed circuit board P. Contacts 12 are fitted into the opening groove 11 in such a manner as to be elastically deformed in a groove width direction. A support 24 abutting against the reverse of an FPC is disposed in a plug housing 20 to be mounted in the FPC (B). When the support 24 is inserted into the opening groove 11 of the base housing 10 together with the FPC, the contacts 12 are deformed into a press-contact with the FPC. Lock mechanisms 15, 25 are provided for locking the plug housing 20 to the base housing 10 at a position at which a conductor of the FPC is brought into pressure contact with the contacts 12. The support 24 is provided with FPC locking portions 26 for locking the tip end of the FPC.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a connector for connecting a flexible printed wiring board (hereinafter referred to as "FPC") having flexibility to a printed circuit board or the like, and in particular, to prevent poor connection. Regarding what you did.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a connector of this type, FIG.
(A) As shown in FIG.
A contact (c) is provided in the groove (b) so as to be elastically deformable in the groove width direction (left and right direction in the figure). Things are known. The method of use is to use the solder tail of the contact (c) and the through hole (e) of the printed circuit board (d).
The connector is mounted on a printed circuit board or the like (d) by soldering into the connector, and then the FPC (f) is inserted into the gap between the contact (c) and the inner wall of the housing groove to be fitted. To contact the FPC (f) conductor (c).
・ Electrical connection is achieved by pressing against.

[0003] Separately, there is known a housing provided with a slider (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-46388).
Reference). In this connector, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), a groove (b) is formed in the housing (a), and a contact (c) is provided in the groove (b). Is the same as the conventional example described above, but further includes a groove (b)
In addition, a slider (g) having a slope is provided so as to be able to move up and down substantially along the inner wall of the groove. The connector is mounted on a printed circuit board or the like (d) in the same manner as in the prior art, and then the contacts (c),. Insert the FPC (f) into the gap with (g), and then push the slider (g) into the groove (b) to push the FPC (f) into the contact (c). With this, the conductor of the FPC (f) is pressed against the contact (c) to achieve electrical connection, and the both ends (h) and (h) of the slider (g) are connected to the inner wall of the housing (b) and the like. It is locked and locked. According to this connector with a slider, by pulling up the slider (g), the FPC (f) can be fitted with a sufficient clearance between the contact (c) and the slider (g). There is almost no resistance (hardness) at the time, and the operability is excellent.

[0004]

However, in any of the connectors, when the FPC (f) is manually inserted into the connector, the FPC (f) is soft, and the response is that the FPC (f) can be inserted to the fitting position, that is, the insertion. The feeling is difficult to understand. Therefore, when the former connector is used, FIG.
As shown in (b), despite the fact that the FPC (f) is inclined in the width direction and is half-fitted, it may be mistaken that fitting has been completed, thereby causing a poor connection of the connector. There is. In particular, this is likely to occur in a multi-pole FPC having a wide FPC.

In the latter connector with a slider,
The FPC (f) is inserted into the housing (a), and then the slider (g) is pushed into the groove (b) to lock the housing (a). ) May be forgotten to be pushed, resulting in poor connection of the connector, or as shown in FIG. 7B, for example, a shift between the slider (G) and the FPC (F). One side of the lock, which is inclined in the direction and is locked to the housing (a) only at one end thereof, may cause a connection failure of the connector.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to provide a housing,
It is divided into a base housing mounted on a printed circuit board and a plug housing that holds the FPC, and these rigid bodies are fitted to each other.
In addition to preventing half-fitting of the PC, the fitting can be performed by one action so that the operation is not forgotten.
It is an object of the present invention to eliminate displacement between a plug housing and a plug housing for holding the housing and to surely fit the housings without tilting, thereby preventing connection failure of the connector.

In this case, when the housings are fitted to each other, the FPC may be turned up from the plug housing, and at that time, problems such as poor connection may occur. Therefore, in the present invention, the tip of the FPC is further locked to the plug housing to effectively prevent the FPC from being turned up.
It is intended to improve the reliability of the PC connector.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector for connecting an FPC to a printed circuit board or the like, the base housing being mounted on the printed circuit board or the like. And a plug housing mounted on the FPC. The base housing has an opening formed therein, and the contact is provided in the opening so that the contact can be elastically deformed in the groove width direction. A support portion is provided which is in contact with the back surface of the FPC. When the support portion enters the open groove of the base housing together with the FPC, the contact is deformed and pressed against the FPC, and the conductor of the FPC is pressed against the contact. And a lock mechanism for locking the plug housing to the base housing is provided.
It is characterized in that an FPC locking portion for locking the tip of C is provided.

In this FPC connection connector, the base housing is mounted on a printed circuit board or the like by inserting a solder tail of the contact into a through hole of the printed circuit board or the like and soldering the solder tail. On the other hand, plug housing
Attach to the PC and lock the tip of the FPC with the FPC locking part. Then, the support portion of the plug housing is made to protrude into the groove of the base housing together with the FPC, and when the conductor of the FPC comes to a position where the conductor is pressed against the contact, the plug housing is locked to the base housing by the locking mechanism, and the base of the plug housing is The fitting to the housing is completed.

[0010] In this case, the FPC is supported by the support portion of the plug housing and has rigidity, which is pressed against the contact of the rigid base housing. It's easy to do. Therefore, the FPC does not half-fit. Also, like this, F
Since the PC is fitted with the PC mounted on the plug housing, the fitting can be performed by one operation. Therefore, there is no forgetting the operation. In addition, since there is no displacement between the FPC and the plug housing, the plug housing is not fitted to the base housing in a state where the plug housing is inclined in the width direction. Therefore, poor connection of the connector is prevented.

Further, since the plug housing is fitted into the base housing without tilting in the width direction, it is sufficient to provide the lock mechanism at one place, and in such a case, the structure is simplified.

Further, since the tip of the FPC is locked by the FPC locking portion of the support portion, the FPC is pushed from the support portion when the support portion enters the groove of the base housing together with the FPC and presses against the contact. There is no turning over.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the FPC locking portion is a protruding piece that rises from the support portion in a substantially inverted L-shaped cross section.

In this FPC connection connector, since the tip of the FPC is locked by the protruding piece which is the FPC locking portion, the support portion enters the groove of the base housing together with the FPC and presses against the contact. The FPC does not turn over from the support. Also, if the FPC is mounted along the supporting portion, the front end of the FPC is easily locked by the projection which is the FPC locking portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the FPC engaging portion is a slit formed in the supporting portion so as to introduce the tip of the FPC.

In this FPC connection connector, the front end of the FPC is locked by the peripheral edge of the slit, which is the FPC locking portion, so that the supporting portion projects into the groove of the base housing together with the FPC and presses against the contact. Sometimes FP
C does not turn over from the support. Further, since no projection is formed on the surface of the support portion and the support portion is formed to have substantially the same thickness in the fitting direction, the load applied to the contact and the like at the time of fitting is reduced.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an FPC connection connector according to a first embodiment.

In these figures, reference numeral 10 denotes a substantially box-shaped base housing mounted on a printed circuit board or the like P;
Denotes a plug housing mounted on the FPC (B). The base housing 10 and the plug housing 20 constitute an FPC connection connector.

The base housing 10 is formed with an open groove 11 which is open on one side.
Has contacts 12 in the groove width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3)
It is provided internally so that it can be elastically deformed. For this purpose, the contact 12 of the first embodiment is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3), so that both ends can be elastically expanded. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 in the technical section, the groove may be formed in a substantially L-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove, and only one end may be formed to be elastically deformable in the groove width direction. The base of the contact 12 is led out of the base housing 10 as a solder tail 12a. In the first embodiment, the type in which the solder tail 12a is derived from the side wall of the base housing 10 is illustrated. However, other types such as the type in which the solder tail 12a is derived from the bottom wall of the base housing as illustrated in FIGS. It may be a type.

The plug housing 20 is an FPC
The plug housing 20 according to the first embodiment may have a structure mounted on the front side of the FPC (B) and the back side of the FPC (B). And a back member 22 arranged on the front member 2.
1 and the back member 22 are connected to each other to form an FPC (B).
It is configured to be attached to. The FPC referred to here is one in which a conductor is wired on the surface or inside of a thin plate or film of a resin or the like having high flexibility, and the surface of the FPC is the surface on the side where the conductor is wired or the inside. The surface on the side where a certain conductor is exposed is called the surface on the opposite side is called the back surface. In the FPC (B) exemplified in the first embodiment, conductors are wired inside so as to be substantially parallel to each other, and each conductor is
It is exposed near the tip of PC (B).
The left side of (B) corresponds to the front side, and the right side corresponds to the back side. Reference numeral 23 denotes a fixing pin 23 which protrudes from the back member 22 and fits into the front member 21 through a through hole of the FPC (B), and securely holds the FPC (B) on the plug housing 20. . Without the fixing pin 23, the front member 2
The FPC (B) may be simply attached by the clamping force between the back member 1 and the back member 22. FPC plug housing 20
As a structure for mounting to (B), for example, an adhesive layer is formed on the plug housing 20 with an adhesive, and this is
The FPC (B) may be attached to the PC (B), or the FPC (B) may be penetrated through the projection provided on the plug housing 20, and then the projection may be deformed and fixed to the FPC (B). At that time, plug housing 20 is attached to front member 2
It is not necessary to divide into 1 and the back member 22.

The plug housing 20 has an FPC
A support portion 24 is provided in contact with the back surface of (B), and when this support portion 24 enters the groove 11 of the base housing 10 together with the FPC (B), the contact 12 is deformed and F
It is configured to be in pressure contact with PC (B). The support portion 24 is in contact with at least the vicinity of the back surface of the portion where each conductor of the FPC (B) is exposed. In the contact 12 according to the first embodiment, both ends are elastically expanded so that the support portion 2
4 and FPC (B), and one end is FPC
Press against (B). Also, when the contact 12 is formed in a substantially L-shape as viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove, the sole tip is elastically deformed in the groove width direction, and the support portion 24 and the FPC (B) are formed by this and the inner wall of the groove portion 11. Pinch, contact 12 is F
Pressure contact with PC (B).

Hook-shaped coupling portions 21a are provided on both end surfaces of the front member 21 in the FPC width direction, respectively.
On the inner walls at both ends in the FPC width direction of the back member 22, connecting portions 22a for receiving the connecting portions 21a are respectively formed in recesses, and the front member 21 and the back member 22 are overlapped to elastically deform the connecting portions 21a, 21a. Coupling portions 22a, 2
2a, the front member 21 and the back member 22
Can be combined. In the first embodiment, the coupling portions 21a and 22a are provided at both ends in the FPC width direction, but may be provided at other portions. Further, a hook-shaped connecting portion 22 a may be provided on the back member 22, and the connecting portion 21 a for receiving the connecting portion 22 a may be formed in the front member 21. Furthermore, the connection of the front member 21 and the back member 22
For example, the bonding may be performed using another known structure, such as bonding using an adhesive layer.

FPC in the plug housing 20
Protrusions 25, 25 are respectively provided on both end surfaces in the width direction, and concave portions 15, 15 for receiving the respective protrusions 25 while being elastically deformed are provided on inner walls at both ends in the groove longitudinal direction of the base housing 10, respectively. The protrusion 25 and the recessed portion 15 allow the plug housing 20 to be positioned at a position where the conductor of the FPC (B) is pressed against the contact 12.
Is locked to the base housing 10. In the first embodiment, the protrusions 25 and the recesses 15 are provided at both ends in the FPC width direction and the groove longitudinal direction. However, they may be provided not at both ends but at an intermediate portion, or provided at almost only one intermediate position. You may. Further, a projection may be provided on the base housing 10 and a recess may be provided on the plug housing 20.

The support portion 24 of the plug housing 20 is provided with an FPC locking portion 26 for locking the tip of the FPC (B). In the first embodiment, the FPC engaging portion 26 is supported by the supporting portion 2 so that the tip of the FPC (B) is introduced.
4 is formed by the slit 26 formed. The slit 26 is formed in the back member 22 along the FPC width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3), and the leading edge of the FPC (B) is introduced and locked by the peripheral edge thereof. . With this configuration, no protrusion is formed on the surface of the support portion 24, and the support portion 24 is formed to have substantially the same thickness along the fitting direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 3). The slit 26 may be provided over the entire width of the FPC (B) or may be provided wider than the width.

A method of using the FPC connection connector will be described. First, in the FPC connector, as shown in FIG. 3, the solder tail 12a of the contact 12 is inserted into a through hole of the printed board P or the like and soldered, so that the base housing 10 is connected to the printed board P or the like.
To be implemented. On the other hand, the plug housing 20 is
(B), the leading end of the FPC (B) is introduced into the slit 26 and locked. And, as shown in FIG.
The support portion 24 of the plug housing 20 is pushed into the groove 11 of the base housing 10 together with the FPC (B),
When C (B) comes to a position where it comes into pressure contact with the contact 12, the plug housing 20 is locked to the base housing 10 by the lock mechanisms 15 and 25, and the plug housing 20 is moved.
Is fitted to the base housing 10. In order to release the lock mechanisms 15 and 25, for example, the protrusion 2
A jig such as a screwdriver is inserted between the plug housing 20 and the recessed portion 15 to deform the protruding portion 25.
Can be pulled out of the base housing 10.

In this case, since the FPC (B) is supported by the support portion 24 of the plug housing 20 and has rigidity, and this is pressed against the contact 12 of the base housing 10 which is a rigid body, a feeling of insertion of the FPC (B) appears. It is easy to intuitively confirm the completion of fitting. Therefore, the half-fitting of the FPC (B) does not occur. In addition, since the FPC (B) is fitted in a state of being mounted on the plug housing 20 as described above, the fitting can be performed by one action operation. Therefore, there is no forgetting the operation. Moreover, since there is no displacement between the FPC (B) and the plug housing 20, there is no possibility that the plug housing 20 is fitted to the base housing 10 in a state inclined in the width direction. Therefore, poor connection of the connector is prevented.

Further, since the plug housing 20 is fitted into the base housing 10 without tilting in the width direction, it is sufficient to provide the lock mechanisms 15 and 25 at one place, and in such a case, the structure is simplified. Further, when the plug housing 20 includes the front member 21 and the back member 22, the front member 21 and the back member 22 cover the vicinity of the front end of the FPC, so that the vicinity of the front end is protected and is not damaged.

Further, the tip of the FPC (B) is
Is supported by the slit 26 of the FPC.
FPC (B) when entering into the groove 11 of the base housing 10 together with (B) and pressing against the contact 12.
Is not turned up from the support portion 24. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent a failure such as a connection failure and improve the reliability of the FPC connection connector. Further, since no projection is formed on the surface of the support portion 24 and the support portion 24 is formed to have substantially the same thickness along the fitting direction, deformation of the contact 12 and the like at the time of fitting is minimized. Is reduced.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that F
Only the configuration of the PC locking portion is different, and the other configuration is the same. Therefore, members having the same functions as the members of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description other than the FPC locking portion in the description of the first embodiment is directly referred to as the description of the second embodiment. .

An FPC locking portion according to the second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the support portion 24 of the plug housing 20 has an FPC for locking the tip of the FPC (B).
A locking portion 26 'is provided. In the second embodiment, the FPC locking portion 26 ′ is constituted by a protruding piece 26 ′ that rises from the support portion 24 in a substantially inverted L-shaped cross section. The protruding piece 26 ′ is formed on the back member 22 in the FPC width direction, and
The tip of the PC (B) is fitted and locked. The projecting piece 26 'may be provided to fill the width of the FPC (B), or may be provided to be wider or narrower. Also,
They may be provided continuously or discontinuously in the FPC width direction.

The method of use of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but differs only in the operation of the FPC locking portion.
The description other than the PC locking portion will be directly referred to as the description of the second embodiment. Next, the operation of the FPC locking portion will be described.
Since the tip of (B) is locked to the protruding piece 26 ', the supporting portion 2
4 is pressed together with the FPC (B) into the groove 11 of the base housing 10 and pressed against the contact 12.
The PC (B) does not turn over from the support portion 24. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent a failure such as a connection failure and improve the reliability of the FPC connection connector. Also, F
If the PC (B) is mounted along the support part 24, the FPC
The tip is easily locked to the projection 26 '.

The present invention is not limited by the above embodiment. The present invention includes all embodiments in which the support portion is provided with the FPC locking portion for locking the tip of the FPC irrespective of the structure. The present invention also includes an embodiment in which the front member and the back member are connected by a hinge member or the like.

[0033]

As described above, the FPC of claim 1
According to the connector for connection, the housing is divided into a base housing mounted on a printed circuit board or the like and a plug housing holding the FPC, and these rigid bodies are fitted to each other to give a feeling of insertion of the FPC, thereby providing an FPC insertion feeling. In addition to preventing half-fitting, the fitting can be performed by one action so that forgetting operation can be eliminated.
The plug housing can be fitted to the base housing without tilting, without the displacement between the plug housing and the plug housing. Therefore, the connection failure of the connector can be reliably prevented. Further, since the plug housing is fitted into the base housing without tilting in the width direction, it is sufficient to provide the lock mechanism at one place, and in such a case, the structure can be simplified. Further, since the tip of the FPC is locked by the FPC locking portion of the support portion, the support portion is
Even if C is pressed into the groove of the base housing together with C and pressed against the contact, the FPC does not turn over from the supporting portion, effectively preventing a failure such as poor connection and improving the reliability of the FPC connector. be able to.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, F
Prevention of turning over of the PC can be realized, and if the FPC is mounted along the supporting portion, the front end of the FPC can be easily locked to the FPC locking portion, so that workability is improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, F
It is possible to prevent the PC from being turned over, and since no projection is formed on the surface of the support portion and the support portion is formed to have substantially the same thickness along the fitting direction, the load applied to the contacts and the like at the time of fitting is reduced. The reliability of the FPC connector can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an FPC connection connector according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a base housing and a plug housing of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a base housing and a plug housing of the first embodiment before connection.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the base housing and the plug housing of the first embodiment in a connected state.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a base housing and a plug housing of a second embodiment before connection.

6A and 6B show a conventional connector, in which FIG.
(B) is a front view.

7A and 7B show a conventional connector with a slider, wherein FIG. 7A is a longitudinal side view and FIG. 7B is a front view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Printed circuit board etc. B FPC 10 Base housing 11 Open groove 12 Contact 20 Plug housing 21 Front member 22 Back member 24 Supporting part 26 Slit (FPC locking part) 26 'Projection (FPC locking part) 15 and 25 Lock mechanism

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shinyo Shinyo 60 Fujiesuka, Higashiura-cho, Chita-gun, Aichi Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector for connecting an FPC to a printed circuit board or the like, comprising a base housing mounted on the printed circuit board or the like, and a plug housing mounted on the FPC. A contact is provided in the groove so that the contact can be elastically deformed in the groove width direction, and the plug housing is provided with a support portion that is in contact with the back surface of the FPC.
The contact is deformed when it enters the groove of the base housing together with the FPC.
A lock mechanism for locking the plug housing to the base housing at a position where the conductor is pressed against the contact, and an FP for locking the tip of the FPC to the support portion.
A connector for FPC connection, wherein a C locking portion is provided. 2. An FPC locking portion is configured so that a cross section thereof is substantially reverse L from a support portion.
2. The FPC connection connector according to claim 1, wherein the FPC connection connector is a protruding piece that rises in a character shape. 3. The FPC connector according to claim 1, wherein the FPC engaging portion is a slit formed in the supporting portion so as to introduce the tip of the FPC.