JP2012109059A - Flexible cable connector - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a flexible cable connector that does not require an excessive space for the arrangement of a lock member for locking a flexible cable and an unlocking portion for releasing the lock, and does not require an additional operation when the flexible cable is inserted. A flexible cable connector (101) includes an insulating housing (10, 110) for receiving a flexible cable (60), contacts (20, 120) attached to the housing (10, 110), and at least a part of the housing (10, 110). The metal shells 30 and 130 to be covered and the lock members 40 and 140 for locking the flexible cable 60 when the flexible cable 60 is inserted into the housings 10 and 110 are provided. The shells 30 and 130 are disposed at positions overlapping the lock members 40 and 140 when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the flexible cable 60, and press the lock members 40 and 140 to release the lock state of the flexible cable 60. It has lock release parts 50 and 150.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexible cable connector for connecting a flexible cable such as a flexible flat cable (FFC) and a flexible circuit board (FPC) to a circuit board.

  As a conventional flexible cable connector of this type, for example, the one shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 is known (see Patent Document 1). FIG. 20 is a plan view of a conventional flexible cable connector, showing both FPCs. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 21-21 in FIG. 20, in which (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the actuator is in an open position, and (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the actuator is in a closed position. is there.

A flexible cable connector 201 shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 includes an insulating housing 210, a plurality of metal contacts 220, a metal shell 230, and an actuator 240.
The housing 210 is formed with an FPC receiving space 211 for receiving the FPC 250 from the front side (the lower side in FIG. 20, the left side in FIG. 21A).

The plurality of contacts 220 are arranged along the width direction of the housing 210 (the left-right direction in FIG. 20). Each contact 220 has a contact portion (not shown) that contacts the FPC 250 received in the FPC receiving space 211 and a substrate connection portion 221 connected to a circuit board (not shown).
The shell 230 is attached to the housing 210 so as to cover the housing 210. The shell 130 includes a contact portion 231 that can contact the ground line of the FPC 250, a terminal portion 232 that can contact the circuit board, and a pair of seesaw-type lock portions 233 that prevent the FPC 250 from being detached. As shown in FIG. 20, the pair of lock portions 233 are disposed at both ends in the width direction of the shell 230. Each lock part 233 has a claw part 235 that engages with the notch 251 of the FPC 250 on the front side with respect to the fulcrum part 234, and a force point part 236 on which the rotational force of the actuator 240 acts on the rear side with respect to the fulcrum part 234. I have.

  The actuator 240 is disposed on the rear side of the housing 210 and is supported by the contact 220 so as to be rotatable between an open position (FIG. 21A) and a closed position (FIG. 21B). The actuator 240 is provided with a cam portion 241 that acts on the force point portion 236 of the lock portion 233. As shown in FIG. 21A, the FPC 250 is inserted into the FPC receiving space 211 when the actuator 240 is in the open position. At this time, the claw portion 235 of the lock portion 233 is separated from the notch 251 of the FPC 250 by the action of the cam portion 241. Then, as shown in FIG. 21B, when the actuator 240 is rotated so as to be tilted and moved to the closed position, the claw portion 235 is rotated around the fulcrum portion 234 by the action of the cam portion 241, and the FPC 250. Engages with the notch 251. Thereby, the separation of the FPC 250 is prevented. When the actuator 240 is moved to the closed position, the contact portion of each contact 220 comes into contact with the FPC 250 for the first time.

  As another conventional flexible cable connector, for example, the one shown in FIGS. 22 to 24 (see Patent Document 2) is also known. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of another conventional flexible cable connector, which shows both a circuit board and an FPC. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a process of inserting the terminal portion of the FPC into the housing in the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a process when the terminal portion of the FPC is detached from the housing.

A flexible cable connector 301 shown in FIGS. 22 to 24 includes an insulating housing 310 and a plurality of metal contacts 320.
The housing 310 is formed with an FPC receiving space 311 for receiving the terminal portion of the FPC 340 from the front side (the right side in FIG. 23).
The plurality of contacts 320 are arranged along the width direction of the housing 310 (left-right direction in FIG. 22). Each contact 320 includes a contact portion 321 that contacts the FPC 340 received in the FPC receiving space 311 and a substrate connection portion 322 that is connected to the circuit board PCB.

  The housing 310 is provided with a lock arm 330 that holds a reinforcing plate 341 provided at a terminal portion of the FPC 340. The lock arm 330 is formed with a slit in the upper wall of the housing 310 and includes a housing side lock portion 331 extending from the left end side in the width direction of the housing 310 toward the center portion in the width direction. A holding lock protrusion 336 that engages with a hole 342 of a reinforcing plate 341 provided in the FPC 340 is formed to protrude downward at the front end of the housing side lock portion 331 and in the center in the width direction of the housing 310. . Further, the lock side continuous portion 332 rises upward from the tip of the housing side lock portion 331 (the central portion in the width direction of the housing 310). An arm portion 333 extends in parallel with the upper surface of the housing 310 from the upper end of the lock side continuous portion 332 toward the left end side in the width direction of the housing 310. An operation unit 335 is provided at the tip of the arm unit 333. Further, a fulcrum part 334 is formed on the lower surface of the arm part 333 between the operation part 335 and the lock side continuous part 332 (holding lock protrusion 336) so as to protrude downward.

Next, the operation of inserting and extracting the terminal portion of the FPC 340 into the FPC receiving space 311 will be described.
In FIG. 23, when the end portion of the FPC 340 is inserted into the FPC receiving space 311 with the reinforcing plate 341 facing up, the reinforcing plate 341 contacts the holding lock protrusion 336. As a result, the holding lock protrusion 336 and the lock arm 330 move upward one end.
When the insertion of the FPC 340 is advanced, the FPC 340 and the contact portion 321 of the contact 320 come into contact with each other, and the holding lock projection 336 returns to the original position and engages with the hole 342 formed in the reinforcing plate 341. Thereby, the insertion of the FPC 340 is completed and the FPC 340 is prevented from being detached.

  When the terminal portion of the FPC 340 is pulled out from the FPC receiving space 311, the operation unit 335 is pressed downward from above as indicated by an arrow Q in FIG. Thereby, the fulcrum part 334 contacts the upper surface of the housing 310 and functions as a fulcrum of the insulator. When the lock arm 330 is further deformed by continuing to press the operation portion 335, the holding lock projection 336 moves upward as indicated by the arrow P. As a result, the holding lock projection 336 is brought into the non-engagement position with respect to the hole 342, and the terminal portion of the FPC 340 can be pulled out from the FPC receiving space 311.

JP 2008-52993 A JP 2009-301916 A

However, the conventional flexible cable connector 201 shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 and the flexible cable connector 301 shown in FIGS. 22 to 24 have the following problems.
That is, in the case of the flexible cable connector 201 shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, when the FPC 250 is inserted into the FPC receiving space 211, the actuator 240 that requires an additional startup operation other than the insertion operation of the FPC 250 is required. Become. The actuator 240 is provided separately from the housing 210 and the shell 230, and there is a problem that the number of parts is large.

Moreover, the lock part 233 in the flexible cable connector 201 is a seesaw type. For this reason, when the flexible cable connector 201 is viewed from above, an excessive space is required for the arrangement of the claw portion 235 that engages with the notch 251 of the FPC 250 and the force point portion 236 on which the rotational force of the actuator 240 acts. There's a problem.
On the other hand, in the case of the flexible cable connector 301 shown in FIGS. 22 to 24, no additional operation other than the insertion operation of the FPC 340 is necessary to prevent the FPC 340 from being detached.

  However, the lock arm 330 that prevents the FPC 340 from being detached is formed in a seesaw shape, and the arm portion 333 extends from the center in the width direction of the housing 310 toward the left end in the width direction. In FIG. 24, an operation portion 335 is provided at the left end in the width direction of the arm portion 333 across the fulcrum portion 334, and a holding lock protrusion 336 is provided at the right end in the width direction of the arm portion 333. For this reason, when the flexible cable connector 301 is seen from a plane, there is a problem that an excessive space is provided in the arrangement of the lock arm 330.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and an object thereof is to require an excessive space for the arrangement of the lock member for locking the flexible cable and the lock release portion for releasing the lock. It is another object of the present invention to provide a flexible cable connector that does not require an additional operation when the flexible cable is inserted.

To achieve the above object, a flexible cable connector according to claim 1 of the present invention has an insulating housing that receives a flexible cable, and a contact portion that is attached to the housing and contacts the flexible cable. A contact connected to the circuit board, a metal shell attached to the housing and covering at least a part of the housing, and a lock for locking the flexible cable when the flexible cable is inserted into the housing A flexible cable connector including a member, wherein the shell is arranged at a position overlapping the lock member when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the flexible cable, and presses the lock member to press the flexible cable Release the lock status of It is characterized by having a lock release portion.
Here, the “flexible cable” is meant to include both a flexible flat cable (FFC) and a flexible circuit board (FPC).

The flexible cable connector according to claim 2 of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the unlocking portion extends along the width direction of the shell and protrudes from the upper wall portion of the shell. A width direction extending portion, an orthogonal direction extending portion that extends in the orthogonal direction from a tip of the width direction extending portion, and a width direction from the tip of the orthogonal direction extending portion And a pressing portion that presses the lock member.
A flexible cable connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to the second aspect, wherein the locking member is formed integrally with the shell.

  A flexible cable connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to the third aspect, wherein the flexible cable is inserted into the housing in a horizontal direction, and the lock member is formed on the upper wall portion of the shell. A falling portion that falls from the rear edge, a curved portion that curves so as to protrude rearward from the lower end of the falling portion, and a forward extending portion that extends forward from the tip of the curved portion and is located in a space in the housing And a lock part that rises from a side edge of the front extension part and enters the notch formed in the flexible cable to lock the flexible cable, and the pressing part of the unlocking part includes: Pressing the front extension part directly above the front extension part of the arm part, the flexible cable by the lock part It is characterized in that to release the click state.

A flexible cable connector according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to the second aspect, wherein the lock member is formed integrally with the housing.
Furthermore, the flexible cable connector according to claim 6 of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to claim 5, wherein the flexible cable is inserted into the housing in the horizontal direction, and the locking member is arranged in the width direction of the housing. An arm portion that extends inward in the width direction from the outer end wall, protrudes upward from the tip of the arm portion, and enters the notch formed in the flexible cable to lock the flexible cable. And the pressing portion of the unlocking portion includes a pressing portion that presses the arm portion from directly above the arm portion to release the locked state of the flexible cable by the locking portion. It is characterized by that.

  The flexible cable connector according to claim 7 of the present invention is the flexible cable connector according to claim 6, wherein the arm portion has a notch penetrating in the vertical direction, and the unlocking portion is in the orthogonal direction. A passage part extending further downward from the lower end of the extension part and passing through the notch of the arm part; and a support part extending inward in the width direction from the lower end of the passage part and supporting the lower surface of the arm part. It is a feature.

According to the board-mounted connector according to the present invention, the shell covering at least a part of the housing is disposed at a position overlapping the lock member when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the flexible cable, and presses the lock member to be flexible. Providing a flexible cable connector that does not require an excessive space for the arrangement of the lock member and the lock release portion when the flexible cable connector is viewed from a plane, since the lock release portion that releases the cable lock state is provided. it can.
In addition, since the locking member locks the flexible cable when the flexible cable is inserted into the housing, no additional operation other than the insertion operation of the flexible cable is required to prevent the flexible cable from being detached.

It is a perspective view of 1st Embodiment of the flexible cable connector which concerns on this invention, and shows FPC before inserting. It is a perspective view of the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1, and shows FPC after insertion. It is the perspective view which looked at the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell and contact which are used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell and contact which are used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 1 from the back side. It is a perspective view of 2nd Embodiment of the flexible cable connector which concerns on this invention, and shows together FPC before inserting. It is a perspective view of the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9, and shows FPC after insertion. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 similarly to FIG. 10, and shows the FPC after insertion. It is the perspective view which looked at the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the housing used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the housing used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell and contact which are used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the shell and contact which are used for the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 9 from the back side. It is a top view of the flexible connector of a prior art example, and has shown FPC together. It is sectional drawing which follows the 21-21 line of FIG. 20, (A) is sectional drawing which shows the state which has an actuator in an open position, (B) is sectional drawing which shows the state in which an actuator is in a closed position. It is a perspective view of the flexible cable connector of another conventional example, and has shown both the circuit board and FPC. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a process of inserting the terminal portion of the FPC into the housing in the flexible cable connector shown in FIG. 22. It is a figure which shows the process at the time of removing the terminal part of FPC from a housing.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a flexible cable connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A flexible cable connector (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 includes a housing 10 that receives a flexible flat cable (FFC) 60 as a flexible cable, a plurality of contacts 20, a shell 30, and a pair. The locking member 40 is provided.

  The housing 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by molding an insulating resin. A cable receiving space 11 for receiving the FFC 60 from the horizontal direction is formed in the housing 10. The cable receiving space 11 is elongated in the width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the housing 10 in accordance with the shape of the FFC 60, and is open to the front surface of the housing 10 (surface facing the FFC 60 in FIG. 1). In addition, a pair of lock arm accommodation spaces 12 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the cable reception space 11 so as to communicate with the cable reception space 11. Each lock arm accommodating space 12 is open to the front surface, the rear surface, and the upper surface of the housing 10.

  The plurality of contacts 20 are attached at a predetermined pitch in a line along the width direction of the housing 10 as well shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8. Each contact 20 includes a fixing portion 21 that is fixed to the housing 10, a contact portion 22, and a substrate connecting portion 23. Each contact 20 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portion 21 of each contact 20 is fixed in a contact accommodating hole 13 formed in the rear wall of the housing 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the contact portion 22 extends forward from the fixed portion 21 and is disposed in the terminal receiving groove 15 of the terminal alignment portion 14 on the front side of the housing 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Is done. The upper surface of the contact portion 22 is located in the cable receiving space 11 and contacts a conductive pad (not shown) formed on the lower surface of the FFC 60 inserted into the cable receiving space 11. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the board connecting portion 23 extends rearward from the fixing portion 21, is bent downward, and is further bent rearward. The board connecting portion 23 is soldered to a conductive pad on a circuit board (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the shell 30 is attached to the housing 10 to cover the housing 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the shell 30 includes an upper wall portion 31 that covers the upper surface of the housing 10, a pair of side wall portions 33 and 34 that extend downward from both ends in the width direction of the upper wall portion 31, and both sides. A lower wall portion 32 that extends inward in the width direction from the lower ends of the wall portions 33 and 34 and is joined at the center portion in the width direction is provided. The pair of side wall portions 33 and 34 cover both side walls in the width direction of the housing 10. Further, the lower wall portion 32 covers the lower surface of the housing 10. The shell 30 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate.

  The side wall portions 33 and 34 and the lower wall portion 32 of the shell 30 are provided with tongue pieces 35 to be soldered on the circuit board. A plurality of first grounding pieces 36 are provided on the rear edge of the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each first ground piece 36 is folded back into the shell 30 from the rear edge of the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30 and extends forward. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface of the first ground piece 36 faces the cable receiving space 11. As a result, the lower surface of each first ground piece 36 comes into contact with the ground pattern formed on the upper surface of the FFC 60 inserted into the cable receiving space 11. Further, a plurality of second grounding pieces 37 are provided on the front edge of the lower wall portion 32 of the shell 30. Each second ground piece 37 extends forward from the front edge of the lower wall portion 32 and is solder-connected to a ground pattern formed on the circuit board. Further, a plurality of press-fitting pieces 38 are provided on the front edge of the lower wall portion 32 of the shell 30 and extend slightly forward from the front edge. Each press-fitting piece 38 is press-fitted and fixed to the housing 10.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the pair of lock members 40 are provided integrally with the shell 30 at both ends in the width direction of the shell 30, and when the FFC 60 is inserted into the cable receiving space 11 of the housing 10, The FFC 60 is locked. Each lock member 40 includes an arm portion 44 and a lock portion 45 as well shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The arm portion 44 includes a falling portion 41 that falls from the rear edge of the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30, a bending portion 42 that curves so as to protrude rearward from the lower end of the falling portion 41, and a distal end of the bending portion 42. It has the front extension part 43 extended ahead. The front extension 43 is located in the lock arm accommodating space 12 in the housing 10. Further, the lock part 45 rises from the inner edge (right edge in FIG. 5) of the front extension part 43 and enters the notch 61 formed in the side part of the FFC 60 to lock the FFC 60 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the front edge of the lock part 45 is formed with an inclined surface that is inclined obliquely upward toward the rear so that the lock part 45 is easily displaced downward when the FFC 60 comes into contact. Yes.

  The shell 30 has a pair of lock release portions 50 at both ends in the width direction. Each unlocking portion 50 is disposed at a position overlapping the lock member 40 when viewed from the vertical direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the FFC 60, and presses the lock member 40 from directly above the lock member 40 to lock the FFC 60 by the lock member 40. The state is released. The unlocking portion 50 includes a width extending portion 51 extending obliquely upward from the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30 toward the outer side in the width direction, and a lower extending portion 52 extending downward from the tip of the width extending portion 51. And the press part 53 is provided. The downward extending portion 52 is located in the lock arm accommodating space 12 in the housing 10. The pressing portion 53 extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the downward extending portion 52, presses the front extending portion 43 directly above the front extending portion 43 of the arm portion 44 constituting the lock member 40, and locks 45. Is configured to release the lock state of the FFC 60.

Next, insertion and extraction operations of the FFC 60 from the housing 10 will be described.
First, the FFC 60 is inserted from the state shown in FIG. 1 into the cable housing space 11 of the housing 10 as shown in FIG. Then, the contact part 22 of each contact 20 contacts the conductive pad formed on the lower surface of the FFC 60, and the conductive pad on the circuit board and the conductive pad of the FFC 60 are electrically connected. Further, each first grounding piece 36 provided on the shell 30 contacts a ground pattern formed on the upper surface of the FFC 60. As a result, the ground pattern of the FFC 60 is grounded to the ground pattern of the circuit board via the first contact piece 36, the shell 30 and the second contact piece 37.

Here, the process of inserting the FFC 60 into the cable housing space 11 will be described. First, the front end of the FPC 60 comes into contact with the front edge of the lock portion 45. When the insertion of the FFC 60 is advanced, the FFC 60 rides on the slope formed on the front edge of the lock portion 45, and the arm portion 44 and the lock portion 45 are displaced downward around the vicinity of the falling portion 41. When the insertion of the FFC 60 is further advanced and the notch 61 reaches the position of the lock portion 45, the arm portion 44 and the lock portion 45 are returned to their original positions, and the lock portion 45 enters the notch 61. As a result, the FFC 60 is locked by the pair of lock members 40 and is prevented from being detached.
Thus, since the lock member 40 locks the FFC 60 when the FFC 60 is inserted into the cable receiving space 11 of the housing 10, an additional operation other than the insertion operation of the FFC 60 is performed in order to prevent the FFC 60 from being detached. It doesn't cost.

Further, since the lock member 40 is formed integrally with the metal shell 30, it has higher mechanical strength than the resin lock member, and other than the shell 30 and the housing 10 for locking the FFC 60. A separate member is not required and the number of parts is small.
Further, the arm portion 44 of the lock member 40 includes a falling portion 41 that falls from the rear edge of the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30, a curved portion 42 that curves so as to protrude rearward from the lower end of the falling portion 41, and A forward extending portion 43 is provided that extends forward from the tip of the curved portion 42 and is located in the lock arm accommodating space 12 in the housing 10. Then, the lock part 45 rises from the side edge of the front extension part 43. For this reason, the arm portion 44 has a sufficiently long spring length, and can be smoothly displaced when the FFC 60 is locked.

  And the shell 30 which covers the housing 10 has the lock release part 50 which presses the lock member 40 from right above the lock member 40, and cancels | releases the locked state of FFC60. For this reason, when the FFC 60 is detached from the housing 10, the lock release unit 50 is pressed downward, and the lock state of the FFC 60 by the lock unit 45 is released. Since the lock release unit 50 presses the lock member 40 from directly above the lock member 40 to release the locked state of the FFC 60, when the FFC 60 is viewed from a plane, the arrangement of the lock member 40 and the lock release unit 50 is excessive. Space is not required. On the other hand, when the lock portion and the lock release portion are seesaw type as in the conventional example, the occupied space is large when the connector is viewed from the plane.

  The unlocking portion 50 extends from the upper wall portion 31 of the shell 30 toward the outer side in the width direction of the shell 30 in the width direction extending portion 51 and downward from the tip of the width direction extending portion 51, A downward extending portion 52 located in the lock arm accommodating space 12 in the housing 10, and a pressing portion 53 that extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the downward extending portion 52 and presses the locking member 40 from directly above the locking member 40. I have. According to the configuration of the unlocking portion 50, the occupied space can be reduced when the connector 1 is viewed from the plane as compared with the case where the locking portion and the unlocking portion are seesaw type.

When pressing the unlocking part 50 downward, the vicinity (pressing operation part) of the part where the width direction extending part 51 and the downward extending part 52 are connected is pressed downward. Then, the pressing portion 53 extending from the lower end of the lower extending portion 52 presses the front extending portion 43 downward from directly above the front extending portion 43 of the lock member 40, and the lock portion 45 is displaced downward to cut out the FFC 60. Deviate from 61. As a result, the FFC 60 can be detached from the cable receiving space 11.
As described above, since the pressing operation portion and the pressing portion 53 of the unlocking portion 50 and the front extending portion 43 of the lock member 40 are aligned in the vertical direction, the FFC 60 can be detached from the connector 1 in a small occupied space. it can.

Next, a second embodiment of the flexible cable connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A flexible cable connector (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) 101 shown in FIGS. 9 to 19 has the same basic configuration as the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, but is different mainly in the configuration of the lock member and the lock release portion. ing.
Similar to the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the connector 101 includes a housing 110 that receives the FFC 60, a plurality of contacts 120, a shell 130, and a pair of locking members 140.

  The housing 110 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by molding an insulating resin. The housing 110 is formed with a cable receiving space 111 for receiving the FFC 60 in the horizontal direction. The cable receiving space 111 is elongated in the width direction of the housing 110 in accordance with the shape of the FFC 60, and opens at the front surface of the housing 110. In addition, a pair of lock arm accommodation spaces 112 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the cable reception space 111 so as to communicate with the cable reception space 111. Each lock arm accommodating space 112 is open to the front surface, the rear surface, and the upper surface of the housing 110.

  The plurality of contacts 120 are arranged in a line along the width direction of the housing 110 as shown in FIGS. 13, 18, and 19, similarly to the contacts 20 used in the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. Are attached at a predetermined pitch. Each contact 120 includes a fixed portion 121 fixed to the housing 110, a contact portion 122, and a substrate connecting portion 123. The shapes and functions of the fixing portion 121, the contact portion 122, and the board connecting portion 123 are the same as those of the contact 20 used in the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, and description thereof is omitted. 9, 11, 12, and 14, reference numeral 114 denotes a terminal alignment portion, and 115 denotes a terminal receiving groove.

  Further, the shell 130 is attached to the housing 110 and covers the housing 110 in the same manner as the shell 30 used in the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 15, the shell 130 includes an upper wall portion 131 that covers the upper surface of the housing 110, a pair of side wall portions 133 and 134 that extend downward from both ends of the upper wall portion 131 in the width direction, And lower wall portions 132 extending from the lower ends of the portions 133 and 134, respectively. The pair of side wall parts 133 and 134 cover both side walls in the width direction of the housing 110. The lower wall portion 132 covers the lower surface of the housing 110. The shell 130 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate.

  The side wall portions 133 and 134 and the lower wall portion 132 of the shell 130 are provided with tongue pieces 135 to be soldered on the circuit board. A plurality of first grounding pieces 136 are provided on the rear edge of the upper wall portion 131 of the shell 130, and a plurality of second grounding pieces 137 are provided on the front edge of the lower wall portion 132 of the shell 130. Yes. The shapes and functions of the first ground piece 136 and the second ground piece 137 are the same as those of the first ground piece 36 and the second ground piece 37 used in the connector 1 shown in FIGS. To do.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 15, the pair of lock members 140 is located outside the lock arm accommodating space 112 on both sides in the width direction of the housing 110, unlike the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. Each of the outer end walls 116 is integrally provided. Each lock member 140 extends inward in the width direction from the outer end wall 116 of the housing 110, and protrudes upward from the arm portion 141 located in the lock arm accommodating space 112 in the housing 110 and the tip of the arm portion 141. And a lock part 142. The lock unit 142 enters the notch 61 formed in the FFC 60 and locks the FFC 60. As shown in FIG. 9, the front edge of the lock portion 142 is formed with an inclined surface that is inclined obliquely upward toward the rear so that the lock portion 142 is easily displaced downward when the FFC 60 comes into contact. Yes.

  The shell 130 has a pair of lock release portions 150 at both ends in the width direction. Each unlocking portion 150 is disposed at a position overlapping the locking member 140 when viewed from the vertical direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the FFC 60, similarly to the unlocking portion 50 of the connector 1 shown in FIGS. The lock member 140 is pressed from directly above 140 to release the locked state of the FFC 60 by the lock member 140. The unlocking portion 150 includes a width-direction extending portion 151 that extends obliquely upward toward the outer side in the width direction of the upper wall portion 131 of the shell 130, similarly to the unlocking portion 50 of the connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. Prepare. And the lock release part 150 is extended from the front-end | tip of the width direction extension part 151 below, and the downward extension part 152 located in the lock arm accommodation space 112 from the up-and-down penetration groove | channel 112a shown in FIG. I have. The pressing portion 153 extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the downward extending portion 152, presses the arm portion 141 from directly above the arm portion 141 constituting the locking member 140, and releases the locked state of the FFC 60 by the locking portion 142. It is configured as follows.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, a notch 143 that penetrates in the vertical direction is formed on the rear edge of the arm portion 141 of the lock member 140. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the unlocking unit 150 is configured to pass through a passage portion 154 that is the lower end of the downward extending portion 152 and extends further downward from the rear side of the pressing portion 153 and passes through the notch 143 of the arm portion 141. Have. As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, a support portion 155 that supports the lower surface of the arm portion 141 extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the passage portion 154.

Next, insertion and extraction operations of the FFC 60 from the housing 110 will be described.
First, the FFC 60 is inserted into the cable housing space 111 of the housing 110 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 from the state shown in FIG. Thereby, the contact part 122 of each contact 120 contacts the conductive pad formed on the lower surface of the FFC 60, and the conductive pad on the circuit board and the conductive pad of the FFC 60 are electrically connected. Further, each first ground piece 136 provided on the shell 130 contacts a ground pattern formed on the upper surface of the FFC 60. As a result, the ground pattern of the FFC 60 is grounded to the ground pattern of the circuit board via the first contact piece 136, the shell 130, and the second contact piece 137.

Here, the process of inserting the FFC 60 into the cable housing space 111 will be described. First, the front end of the FPC 60 comes into contact with the front edge of the lock portion 142. When the insertion of the FFC 60 is advanced, the FFC 60 rides on the slope formed on the front edge of the lock portion 142, and the arm portion 141 and the lock portion 142 are displaced downward around the fixed end of the arm portion 141. To do. When the insertion of the FFC 60 is further advanced and the notch 61 reaches the position of the lock part 142, the arm part 141 and the lock part 142 return to their original positions, and the lock part 142 enters the notch 61. As a result, the FFC 60 is locked by the pair of lock members 140 and is prevented from being detached.
As described above, since the lock member 140 locks the FFC 60 when the FFC 60 is inserted into the cable receiving space 111 of the housing 110, an additional operation other than the insertion operation of the FFC 60 is performed in order to prevent the FFC 60 from being detached. It doesn't cost.

Further, since the lock member 140 is formed integrally with the housing 110, another member other than the shell 130 and the housing 110 is not required for locking the FFC 60, and the number of parts is small.
Furthermore, the shell 130 that covers the housing 110 has a lock release unit 150 that presses the lock member 140 from directly above the lock member 140 to release the locked state of the FFC 60. For this reason, when the FFC 60 is detached from the housing 110, the lock release portion 150 is pressed downward, and the lock state of the FFC 60 by the lock portion 142 is released. Since the lock release unit 150 presses the lock member 140 from directly above the lock member 140 to release the locked state of the FFC 60, when the FFC 60 is viewed from a plane, the arrangement of the lock member 140 and the lock release unit 150 is excessive. Space is not required.

  In addition, the unlocking portion 150 extends from the upper wall portion 131 of the shell 130 toward the outer side in the width direction of the shell 130 in the width direction extending portion 151, and extends downward from the tip of the width direction extending portion 151, A downward extending portion 152 located in the lock arm accommodating space 112 in the housing 110, and a pressing portion 153 that extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the downward extending portion 152 and presses the locking member 140 from directly above the locking member 140. I have. According to the configuration of the unlocking portion 150, the occupied space can be reduced when the connector 1 is viewed from the plane as compared with the case where the locking portion and the unlocking portion are formed into a seesaw shape.

When pressing the unlocking part 150 downward, the vicinity (pressing operation part) of the part where the width direction extending part 151 and the downward extending part 152 are connected is pressed downward. Then, the pressing portion 153 extending from the lower end of the downward extending portion 152 presses the arm portion 141 downward from directly above the arm portion 141 of the locking member 140, and the locking portion 142 is displaced downward to be detached from the notch 61 of the FFC 60. As a result, the FFC 60 can be detached from the cable receiving space 111.
As described above, since the pressing operation unit and the pressing unit 153 of the unlocking unit 150 and the arm unit 141 of the locking member 140 are aligned in the vertical direction, the FFC 60 can be detached from the connector 101 in a small occupied space.

Here, the unlocking portion 150 extends further downward from the lower end of the downward extending portion 152 and passes through the notch 143 of the arm portion 141, and extends inward in the width direction from the lower end of the passing portion 154 to the arm portion. 141, and a support portion 155 that supports the lower surface of 141. For this reason, when the pressing part 153 presses downward from right above the arm part 141 of the lock member 140, the arm part 141 is displaced downward in a state where the lower surface of the arm part 141 is supported by the support part 155. By the action of the metal support portion 155, excessive deformation of the arm portion 141 made of resin is prevented, and damage to the arm portion 141 due to excessive deformation can be prevented.
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, this invention is not limited to this, A various change and improvement can be performed.
For example, the flexible cable received by the housings 10 and 110 may be not only FFC but also a flexible circuit board (FPC).

The lock members 40 and 140 may be any members that lock the flexible cable when the flexible cable is inserted into the housings 10 and 110, and are not limited to the illustrated shapes.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the FFC 60 is inserted in the horizontal direction with respect to the connectors 1 and 101, but may be inserted downward from the vertical direction. In this case, the lock release unit presses the lock member not in a position directly above the lock member but in a direction orthogonal to the FFC insertion direction (a direction orthogonal to the main surface of the FFC).

Further, the shell does not cover all of the upper and lower surfaces and both side surfaces of the housing, but may not cover a part of the upper and lower surfaces (for example, the central portion) as necessary.
Furthermore, the unlocking portion may extend from the end or side wall of the upper wall of the shell toward the inner side in the width direction of the shell, and the pressing portion may extend from the lower end of the lower extension portion to the outer side in the width direction. .

1,101 Flexible cable connector 10,110 Housing 12,112 Lock arm accommodation space (space)
20, 120 Contact 22, 122 Contact part 30, 130 Shell 31, 131 Upper wall part 40, 140 Lock member 41 Falling part 42 Bending part 43 Front extension part 44 Arm part 45 Lock part 141 Arm part 142 Lock part 143 Notch 50,150 Unlocking part 51,151 Width direction extension part 52,152 Downward extension part (orthogonal direction extension part)
53,153 Pressing part 154 Passing part 155 Supporting part 60 Flexible flat cable (FFC, flexible cable)
61 Notch

Claims (7)

An insulating housing for receiving the flexible cable, a contact portion attached to the housing and contacting the flexible cable, a contact connected to a circuit board, and at least one of the housings attached to the housing. A flexible cable connector comprising a metal shell that covers a portion and a lock member that locks the flexible cable when the flexible cable is inserted into the housing,
The shell has a lock release portion that is disposed at a position overlapping the lock member when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the flexible cable and presses the lock member to release the lock state of the flexible cable. Flexible cable connector featuring.   The unlocking portion extends along the width direction of the shell and protrudes from the upper wall portion of the shell, and extends in the orthogonal direction from the front end of the width direction extending portion. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an orthogonally extending portion positioned in the space; and a pressing portion that extends in a width direction from a tip of the orthogonally extending portion and presses the lock member. Flexible cable connector.   The flexible cable connector according to claim 2, wherein the lock member is formed integrally with the shell. The flexible cable is inserted horizontally into the housing;
The locking member extends from the trailing edge of the upper wall portion of the shell, a bending portion that curves so as to protrude rearward from the lower end of the falling portion, and the front end of the bending portion. An arm portion having a front extending portion located in a space in the housing, and a lock portion that rises from a side edge of the front extending portion and enters a notch formed in the flexible cable to lock the flexible cable. Prepared,
The pressing portion of the lock release portion presses the front extension portion from directly above the front extension portion of the arm portion, and releases the locked state of the flexible cable by the lock portion. Item 5. The flexible cable connector according to Item 3.   The flexible cable connector according to claim 2, wherein the lock member is formed integrally with the housing. The flexible cable is inserted horizontally into the housing;
The lock member extends inward in the width direction from the outer end wall in the width direction of the housing, protrudes upward from the tip of the arm portion, and is formed in the flexible cable. A lock part that enters the cutout and locks the flexible cable,
The pressing portion of the unlocking portion includes a pressing portion that presses the arm portion from directly above the arm portion to release the locked state of the flexible cable by the locking portion. 5. The flexible cable connector according to 5.   The arm portion has a notch penetrating in the vertical direction, and the unlocking portion extends further downward from the lower end of the orthogonal direction extending portion and passes through the notch of the arm portion, and the passing portion. The flexible cable connector according to claim 6, further comprising a support portion that extends inward in the width direction from a lower end of the support portion and supports a lower surface of the arm portion.

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