JP2001143794A - Connector for connecting sheet-like conductor and method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure connection of FPC to a connector. SOLUTION: A housing 16 is provided with a slide opening 18 for receiving a slide 5 to slide in a prescribed range. The slide opening 18 has a gap 19 below the slide 5, and a resilient contact lead 17 a fixedly attached to the inside facing the gap 19. A recess 7 is formed in the rear portion of the FPC support surface 20 at the bottom of the slide 5 to face the leading end of the contact lead 17 when the slide 5 is not inserted. Formed at the back of the recess 7 is an extension 15 with a lower projection 8. The vertical gap between the pressure surface 21 of the FPC support surface 20 before the recess 7 and the leading end of the contact lead 17 is less than the thickness of FPC 2 including an external terminal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a sheet-like conductive path and a method of using the same, and more particularly to an FPC (Flexible Printed Circular) which is a sheet-like conductive path by pushing a slider into a housing.
(Cit: Flexible Printed Circuit Board) and a method of using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views for explaining a conventional FPC connector and a method of using the same.

In this conventional connector for FPC connection, the convex portion 23 provided on the bottom surface of the housing 36 is fitted into the connector mounting hole 13 provided on the substrate 11, and the housing 36 is positioned and fixed to the substrate 11.

The housing 36 is provided with a slide hole 18 penetrating from the front surface to the rear surface, and the slider 35 is guided by a guide mechanism (not shown) in the slide hole 18 so as to be slidable in a predetermined range in the front-rear direction. So that it is attached. A gap 19 is provided below the slider 35 in the slide hole 18. A contact lead 17 having elasticity is fixed to a surface of the housing 36 facing the gap 19, and the tip of the contact lead 17 faces the direction of the slider 35 and the oblique direction of the rear, and the connector lead 9 which is the rear end portion of the contact lead 17. Is the substrate 11 behind the housing 36.
It is soldered to the upper substrate pad 10.

First, the slider 35 is placed at a position before insertion shown in FIG. At this time, the FPC on the lower surface of the slider 35
A relief 37 having a curved concave surface provided on the rear side of the mounting surface 40 faces the tip of the contact lead 17. In this state, the FPC 2 is inserted into the gap 19 from the front, and the front end of the FPC 2 is abutted against the abutting portion 45 provided at the rear of the housing 36 as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the slider 35 is moved backward. At this time, the pressing surface 41 provided on the front side of the FPC mounting surface 40 of the slider 35 presses the FPC 2 against the contact lead 17 and causes the external terminal 3 of the FPC 2 to contact the contact lead 17.

In this conventional connector for FPC connection, F
When inserting the PC2, it is necessary to confirm whether the FPC2 is inserted into the inside of the connector by a necessary distance.
This is one of the important precautions for securely connecting the connector to the connector. For this reason, when a human inserts the FPC 2 into the connector by hand, a method of determining whether or not the FPC 2 has hit the abutting portion 45 by the sense of the hand is adopted. However, in this method, since the judgment based on the touch of the human hand is included, the insertion of the FPC into the connector may be erroneously determined that the necessary amount of the FPC is inserted although the required amount is not actually inserted. There is a drawback that erroneous operation occurs and production quality cannot be sufficiently ensured.

[0008]

In the conventional connector for FPC connection, it is difficult to determine whether a required amount of FPC has been inserted into the connector, an erroneous operation occurs, and the connection of the FPC to the connector is incomplete. was there.

Therefore, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 06-088083
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-214659 discloses a connector structure provided with a viewing window for visually confirming that the FPC has been inserted to a predetermined location. This connector visually confirms that the required amount of FPC has been inserted as well as the feel of a human hand, so that it is easy to confirm that the required amount of FPC has been inserted into the connector.
In these conventional connectors, after confirming that the required amount of FPC has been inserted, an external force is applied with a human finger or the like to push the slider into the connector, thereby completing the connection of the FPC to the connector.

An object of the present invention is to provide an FPC connector that allows a human to visually determine that a necessary amount of FPC has been inserted without inserting a viewing window.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an FPC connection connector which automatically completes connection and fixing of the FPC to the connector when the FPC is inserted.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a connector for connecting a sheet-like conductive path according to the present invention, which comprises a housing (16 in FIG. 2) and a fixed distance from a post-insertion position where the housing is completely inserted into the housing. A gap (19 in FIG. 2) into which the sheet-shaped conductive path (2 in FIG. 2) is inserted from the front side so as to be able to move back and forth between the pre-insertion positions in which the housing has been pulled out and the housing. A slider (5 in FIG. 2) provided between the slider and an elastic contact lead (17 in FIG. 2) provided on a surface of the housing facing the slider via the gap. The seat mounting surface (2 in FIG. 2) facing the housing through
0) the sheet-shaped conductive path clearance (7 in FIG. 2) provided at a position facing the tip of the contact lead when the slider is at the position before the insertion, and the slider on the sheet mounting surface. And a contact portion (15 in FIG. 2) provided behind the tip of the contact lead and abutting against the tip of the sheet-shaped conductive path inserted into the gap when it is at the position before the insertion. A pressure surface (21 in FIG. 2) provided at a position where the tip of the contact lead faces the slider when the slider is at the position after the insertion, and pressing the sheet-like conductive path inserted into the gap against the contact lead; It is preferable that a protrusion (8 in FIG. 2) projecting obliquely to the front side is provided on the side facing the housing through the gap of the abutting portion, and the slider is provided with the c The slider is slidably inserted into a slide hole penetrating from the front surface to the rear surface provided on the jing, and a protrusion (22 in FIG. 1) provided on a side portion of the slider portion is provided on a side portion of the slide hole of the housing. It is also possible to slide inside a slide guide (14 in FIG. 1) formed of a long hole provided.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of using the above-mentioned connector for connecting a sheet-like conductive path, wherein the sheet-like conductive path is inserted into the gap from the front side when the slider is at the position before the insertion. Moving the slider to the position after the insertion by pushing the abutting portion, and visually confirming that the slider has moved to the position after the insertion by visually checking the sheet-like conductive path. Can be determined to be connected, and further, after returning the slider at the position after the insertion to the position before the insertion, the sheet-shaped conductive path inserted into the gap is removed by the gap. You can also pull it out of it.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, of an FPC connector 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. is there.

FPC connector 4 of this embodiment
Is the projection 23 provided on the bottom surface of the housing 16
The housing 16 is positioned and fixed to the substrate 11 by fitting the connector 16 into the connector mounting hole 13 provided on the substrate 11.

The housing 16 has a slide hole 18 penetrating from the front surface to the rear surface, and the slider 5 is inserted into the slide hole 18. The protrusion 22 provided on the side of the slider 5 is slidably fitted and guided in a slider guide 14 formed on the side surface of the slide hole 18 and formed of a long hole in the front-rear direction. Slidable within a certain range (from the pre-insertion position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to the post-insertion position shown in FIG. 5) within a sliding movable range 6 shown in FIG. In the slide hole 18 as shown in FIG.

A gap 19 is provided below the slider 5 in the slide hole 18, and the FPC 2 is inserted into the gap 19 from the front as described later. The contact lead 17 is fixed to the surface of the housing 16 facing the gap 19, and the tip of the contact lead 17 faces in the direction of the slider 35 and in the oblique direction facing backward, and is elastically deformed in the movable range 12. The connector lead 9, which is the rear end of the contact lead 17, is soldered to the board pad 10 on the board 11 behind the housing 36.

When the slider 5 is pulled out to a position before insertion as shown in FIG.
C: a curved concave surface provided behind the mounting surface 20
The PC passage escape 7 faces the tip of the contact lead 17. Further, the slider 5 is provided with an abutting portion 15 formed of a front surface perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider 5 following the escape 7, and a front portion below the abutting portion 15. And a protruding portion 8 which is directed obliquely downward. FPC mounting surface 20 of slider 5
The vertical interval between the pressing surface 21 formed on the front side of the relief 7 and the tip of the contact lead 17 not receiving external force is smaller than the thickness of the FPC 2 including the external terminal 3.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are cross-sectional views sequentially showing a method of connecting the FPC 2 to the FPC connector 4 of the present embodiment.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, the FPC 2 is sent from the front surface in the direction 23 and inserted into the gap 19, and as shown in FIG.
The leading end of C2 is escaped 7 to avoid the leading end of the contact lead 17 and is sent further rearward to strike the abutting portion 15.
At this time, the tip of the FPC 2
Abutment is ensured without coming off from the abutment portion 15.

Further, when a force in the direction 23 is applied to the FPC 2, the force is transmitted to the abutting portion 15, and the slider 5 moves rearward to the post-insertion position shown in FIG. At this time, the pressing surface 21 of the slider 5 connects the FPC 2 to the contact lead 1.
7 and the external terminals 3 of the FPC 2
Contact.

When the FPC 2 inserted into the FPC connector 4 is removed, the front end of the contact lead 17 is moved by sliding the slider 5 in a direction opposite to the direction at the time of insertion to the position before the insertion. By coming into contact with the escape 7, the fixing of the FPC 2 by the contact lead 17 is released, and by pulling the FPC 2 forward, contrary to the insertion,
It can be removed from the connector 4.

In the present embodiment having such a configuration, after the FPC 2 is inserted into the connector 4, the slider 5 moves the movable range 6.
By moving the slider 5 only, it can be determined that the FPC 2 has been inserted into the inside of the connector 4 by a distance necessary to obtain the connection with the contact lead 17, and if the movement of the slider 5 is visually confirmed, the connector 4 of the FPC 2 The completion of the connection to the FPC 2 can be confirmed, and the erroneous insertion of the FPC 2 into the connector 4 can be prevented by performing such confirmation.

Further, in the FPC connector of the present embodiment, when the slider 5 completes the predetermined movement and comes to the position after the insertion, the elastic force of the contact lead 17 causes the addition of the contact lead 17 and the slider 5. Since the pressure surface 21 sandwiches the FPC 2, the fixing of the FPC 2 to the connector 4 is also achieved at the same time. As described above, the electric connection and the mechanical connection of the FPC 2 to the connector 4 can be simultaneously achieved without pushing the slider 5 by hand only by pushing the FPC 2 into the gap 19.
Connection to the connector of the FPC 2 can be performed quickly and easily.

In the above embodiment, the case where the FPC is inserted into the connector has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the FPC, and the FFC (Flexible Flat Ca
ble: a flexible flat cable) can be applied to the case where the connector is inserted into a connector.

[0027]

According to the connector for connecting a sheet-like conductive path of the present invention, the sheet-like conductive path can be completely connected and fixed only by visually confirming the amount of movement of the slider from the outside without providing a viewing window or the like. It can be confirmed that the connection has been made, and it is possible to prevent an error in connecting the sheet-like conductive path to the connector. Further, the connector for connecting a sheet-like conductive path of the present invention has an effect that the work of connecting the sheet-like conductive path to the connector can be performed quickly and easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of an FPC connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the FPC connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before an FPC 2 of the FPC connector shown in FIG. 1 is inserted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the FPC 2 of the FPC connection connector shown in FIG. 1 is inserted.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after the insertion of the FPC 2 of the FPC connection connector shown in FIG. 1 is completed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before an FPC 2 of a conventional FPC connection connector is inserted.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an FPC 2 of a conventional FPC connection connector is inserted.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after the insertion of the FPC 2 of the conventional FPC connection connector is completed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 FPC 3 External terminal 4 Connector 5 Slider 7 Escape 8 Protruding part 9 Connector lead 10 Board pad 11 Board 13 Connector mounting hole 14 Slider guide 15 Butting part 16 Housing 17 Contact lead 18 Slide hole 19 Gap 20 FPC mounting surface 21 Pressing surface 22 Convex part 23 Convex part 35 Slider 36 Housing 37 Escape 40 FPC mounting surface 41 Pressing surface 45 Butt

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A housing which can be moved back and forth between a housing and a pre-insertion position where the housing is pulled out by a certain distance from a post-insertion position where the housing is completely inserted into the housing. A slider having a gap into which the sheet-like conductive path is inserted from the front side with the housing, an elastic contact lead provided on a surface of the housing facing the slider via the gap, and the slider A clearance for passing a sheet-like conductive path provided at a position facing the tip of the contact lead when the slider on the sheet mounting surface facing the housing is at the position before the insertion through the gap; When the slider on the sheet mounting surface is at the position before the insertion, the sheet-like conductive path is provided behind the tip of the contact lead and inserted into the gap. An abutting part against which the tip abuts,
A pressurizing surface provided at a position where the tip of the contact lead is opposed to the slider when the slider on the sheet mounting surface is at the position after the insertion, and pressing a sheet-like conductive path inserted into the gap against the contact lead; Connector for sheet-like conductive path connection characterized by the following 2. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising a projecting portion that projects obliquely forward on a side facing the housing through the gap of the abutting portion. 3. The slider is slidably inserted into a slide hole provided in the housing from a front surface to a rear surface thereof, and a protrusion provided on a side portion of the slider portion is provided in the slide hole of the housing. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector slides in a slider guide formed of a long hole provided on the side of the sheet. 4. When the slider is at the position before the insertion, a sheet-like conductive path is inserted into the gap from the front side, and the tip of the sheet-like conductive path pushes the abutting portion to insert the slider. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the connector is moved to a later position. 5. The sheet-like conductive member according to claim 4, wherein it is visually confirmed that the slider has moved to the position after the insertion, and it is determined that the sheet-like conductive path is connected. How to use road connection connectors. 6. The sheet-like conductive path inserted into the gap is pulled out of the gap after the slider at the position after the insertion is returned to the position before the insertion. Or the use method of the sheet-like conductive path connection connector according to 5.