Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-12
2004-02-17
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With mating connection region formed by bared cable
C439S607070
Reexamination Certificate
active
06692294
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector for a flat cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flat cable has a plurality of electric wires arranged parallel to one another. A connector is used to connect ends of the wires in the flat cable to other circuit components. One such connector is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-132078 and also is shown in
FIG. 54
herein. The connector of
FIG. 54
includes a housing
1
with a groove
2
for receiving the flat cable. A holder
4
holds the terminal end of the flat cable in the groove
2
of the housing
1
. More particularly, the flat cable includes a plurality of electric wires
5
, each of which has a cover
5
A and a core
5
B. The covers
5
A and cores
5
B adjacent the end of the cable are sandwiched between the holder
4
and the housing
1
so that a front portion of the core
5
B is exposed outwardly from the housing
1
. The connector of
FIG. 54
is used with a mating housing
6
, as shown in FIG.
55
. The mating housing
6
has terminal fittings
7
that elastically contact the front portions of the respective cores
5
B. In this manner, the cores
5
B and the mating terminal fittings
7
become electrically conductive with each other.
The above-described connector does not hold the front portion of the core
5
B. Thus, the front portion of the core
5
B can move up from the housing
1
and can be bent laterally. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the front portion of the core wire
5
B will contact the terminal fitting
7
with insufficient pressure when the housing
1
and the mating housing
7
are connected. As a result, a reliable continuity connection cannot be obtained.
There is also the possibility that the resin of the housing
1
or the holder
4
may deform during cooling of the molded resin, after the resin is cooled or due to heat generated after the holder is mounted on the housing. Such deformation of the resin could cause a gap between the housing
1
and the holder
4
. Accordingly, there is a fear that the small diameter cores
5
B may move apart from the holding groove
2
and may penetrate into the gap between the housing
1
and the holder
4
. Thus, adjacent cores
5
B could contact each other.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2000-77123 discloses a shielded connector for a flat cable. The shielded connector includes a plug-side connector mounted on the flat cable and a receptacle-side housing fixed to a circuit substrate. The plug-side connector has a housing, a plurality of terminal fittings fixed in the housing, and a shield mounted on and covering the housing. The flat cable has a plurality of shielded electric wires that have a shielding layer and a core. The core of each shielded electric wire of the flat cable is soldered to a terminal fitting, and the shielding layer of each shielded electric wire is connected to the shielded shell. The receptacle-side connector has a housing with terminal fittings and a ground. The plug-side connector fits on the receptacle-side connector to connect the terminal fittings of both connectors. The shielding shell and the ground also become conductive to each other.
The above-described conventional shielded connector has many component parts. It is possible to reduce the number of parts by bringing the cores and the receptacle-side terminal fittings into contact without the plug-side terminal fitting. However, the cores are flexible, and it is difficult to insert and position the flexible cores in the housing. Thus, mounting efficiency is low.
The cores could be disposed along the outer surface of the housing. However, the shielding shell interferes with the receptacle-side terminal fittings and the cores when they contact each other. Therefore, a notch must be formed on a region of the shielding shell that corresponds to the cores disposed on the outer surface of the housing. However, the notch does not display a shielding function and there is a fear that noise is generated.
Additionally the terminal fittings of the above-described shielded connector has the terminal fittings arranged parallel with one another on the front face of the receptacle-side housing, and shielding members are formed on the right and left surfaces of the receptacle side housing. Only the shielding members function for connecting the shielding shell and the circuit substrate to each other. Thus the shielding member has a small region corresponding to the plug-side housing. The number of portions for connecting the shielding members and the plug-side shielding shell to each other is small. Therefore there may be insufficient shielding.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situations. Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a connector capable of holding a front end of a core of a flat cable. Another object of the invention is to provide a connector that prevents movement of the cores of the wires of a flat cable. An additional object of the invention is to provide a connector for a flat cable that prevents adjacent cores from contacting each other. A further object of the invention is to provide efficient shielding for a connector for a flat cable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a connector with a housing made of synthetic resin. The connector is used with a flat cable that has a plurality of electric wires. Each wire has a conductive core and an insulation cover. The insulation cover is removed at the terminal end of each wire to expose the core.
The housing has an outer surface with cover disposing portion for receiving portions of the insulation covers of the wires near the exposed cores. The housing further comprises core holding means for holding the exposed cores so that the cores cannot move. The core holding means may comprise core holding grooves that are arranged parallel with one another on the outer surface of the housing. A depth of each core holding groove with respect to the outer surface of the housing may be larger than an outer diameter of each of the cores, and the cores may be disposed individually along rear the core holding grooves. Mating terminals can be inserted into the core holding grooves for connection to the individual cores.
A wiring path for the insulation covers of the wires held on the outer surface of the housing preferably is perpendicular with a wiring path for the cores held individually by the core holding means.
A core holder preferably is mounted on the housing so that front portions of the cores are sandwiched between the housing and the core holder. Thus it is possible to prevent the core from moving or curving. The core holder preferably is mounted on the housing for movement between a temporary locking position, where the cores can be inserted between the core holder and the housing, and a main locking position, where the cores are retained between the core holder and the housing. An assembling operation can be performed easily by delivering the housing to a flat cable-mounting site with the core holder in the temporary locking position. The core holder then is moved to the main locking position to retain the cores to the housing. As a result, the contact pressure between the mating terminal fitting and the cores is secure, and a reliable continuity connection is obtained.
Each electric wire may be shielded and may have a shielding layer formed on the outer periphery of the cover. The covers are held on the cover-disposing portion of the housing by a short-circuiting member fixed to the flat cable in a way to short-circuit the shielding layers of the shielded electric wires to each other and by a fixing means for fixing the short-circuiting member to the housing.
The short-circuiting member for short-circuiting the shielding layer of each of the electric wires may be fixed to the flat cable, and the cover holding means may comprise a locking piece that is integral with the housing and can be locked to the short-circuiting member. Because the cover holding means is integral with the housin
Casella Anthony J.
Hespos Gerald E.
Nguyen Phuongchi
Paumen Gary
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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