JPH04328284A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the contact force of a connector at a same degree even if thickness of a flexible printed substrate, which is inserted to the connector, is dispersed. CONSTITUTION:An electrically insulating housing 1, which forms a case of a connector, and a contact shoe 2 provided inside of this housing 1 and having a movable contact part 2a, in which a flexible printed substrate 3 is inserted, are comprised. The contact shoe 2 is made of super elastic alloy.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector for electrically and mechanically connecting printed circuit boards or components and printed circuit boards.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) connector with an FPC inserted therein. 1a is a part of housing 1, and is an FPC that supports the FPC from the back side.
The support wall 2 is a conductive and elastic contact whose part is fixed to the housing 1, and 2a is a movable contact part that comes into contact with a plug part 3a which is an electrical connection part of the FPC 3.

[0003] Conventional connectors are constructed as described above,
When fitting the FPC 3 and the connector, the plug part 3a
FPC 3 so that it comes into contact with the movable contact part 2a of the contact 2.
is inserted between the movable contact portion 2a of the contactor 2 and the FPC support wall 1a of the housing 1, the movable contact portion 2a of the contactor 2
is displaced by the thickness of the FPC 3, and the elastic force of the contact 2 generated approximately in proportion to the amount of displacement causes the FPC 3 to move between the movable contact portion 2a of the contact 2 and the FPC support wall 1a of the housing 1.
is maintained. In other words, it can be said that the FPC and the connector were successfully fitted. In addition, when removing the FPC 3 from the connector, it is sufficient to pull out the FPC 3 with a force that exceeds the elastic force of the contactor 2.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since the conventional connector is constructed as described above, in order to obtain a good electrical and mechanical connection state when the FPC 3 is inserted into the connector, it is necessary to It is necessary for the movable contact portion 2a to be displaced by an amount to obtain a predetermined contact force, but if the thickness accuracy of the FPC 3 is poor and the thickness is thin, the amount of displacement of the movable contact portion 2a will be small. The contact force becomes lower and the electrical
The mechanical connection, especially the electrical connection, will deteriorate.
The problem is that the contact resistance increases over time, sometimes causing poor contact, and if it is thick, the frictional force between the plug part 3a and the movable contact part 2a of the contactor 2 increases when the FPC 3 is attached or detached. Therefore, not only the operability deteriorates, but also the contact surface between the plug part 3a and the contactor 2 is subject to significant damage such as wear and roughness due to sliding, and there is a concern that the electrical connection performance may deteriorate, especially after repeated use. There was a problem that In particular, as parts have become smaller in recent years, contactors have also become smaller, and there is no longer any margin in spring design. The situation has become so bad that it is affecting people.

[0005] This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and even if there is a large thickness error in the thickness of a printed circuit board such as an FPC or a component, the connection part and the connection part It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can maintain low and stable contact resistance even in a mounted state without damaging the contacts of the connector electrically connected to the connector.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A connector according to the present invention includes a housing and a contact provided within the housing, wherein at least the movable portion of the contact is made of a superelastic alloy.

[0007]

[Operation] The connector according to the present invention can obtain approximately the same level of contact force even if the thickness of the FPC inserted into the connector varies, for example.

[0008]

[Example] Example 1. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the connector of the present invention, and shows a state in which an FPC thinner than the normal thickness is attached. In the figure, numerals 1 to 3 are the same as the conventional connectors described above. Further, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between elongation and stress of a superelastic alloy used as a spring material of a contactor of the connector shown in FIG. 1.

In the FPC connector configured as described above, when fitting the FPC 3 and the connector, the FPC 3 is connected to the contact 2 so that the plug portion 3a comes into contact with the movable contact portion 2a of the contact 2. When inserted between the movable contact portion 2a of the contactor 2 and the FPC support wall 1a of the housing 1, the movable contact portion 2a of the contactor 2 is displaced by the thickness of the FPC 3, and the amount of the contactor 2 related to the amount of displacement is Although an elastic force is generated, since a superelastic alloy is used as the material of the contactor 2, the amount of displacement of the movable contact portion 2a becomes a minimum value. In other words, when the FPC thickness reaches its minimum value within the range of variation, the stress value of this alloy begins to be almost saturated (for example, the point indicated by arrow A in Fig. 2).
It is possible to design a superelastic alloy spring so that F
Since the contact force is almost the same no matter where the thickness of PC3 is between the maximum and minimum values, the contact force is approximately the same, so To maintain low and stable contact resistance even in a mounted state without causing damage.

Example 2. In addition, in the above embodiment, the contact 2
Although the case has been described in which superelastic alloy is used throughout, it may also be used only in movable parts.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a connector having a housing and a contact provided in the housing, at least the movable part of the contact is made of a superelastic alloy. Therefore, even if, for example, the thickness of the FPC inserted therein varies, almost the same contact force can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a connector according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between elongation and stress of a superelastic alloy of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Housing 2 Contact 2a Movable contact part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connector comprising a housing and a contact provided within the housing, wherein at least a movable portion of the contact is made of a superelastic alloy.