Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With shield – ground conductor or ground commoning means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-21
2001-04-10
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With shield, ground conductor or ground commoning means
C439S495000, C439S579000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213810
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector for a coaxial flat cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Connectors such as that disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application First Publication No. Hei 4-8285 for connecting flat cables are conventionally known.
These connectors have a structure wherein a metal cover is provided to the top surface of the mold, and the flat cable is inserted and held between the cover and the contact pins inside the mold, thereby connecting the contact pins and the flat cable together.
Typically, in order to realize full expression of the characteristics of a flat cable, it is greatly desirable to reduce the height of the connector for this type of flat cable. In addition, there has also been a desire to enable easy attachment of a flat cable to this mold when the mold and contact pins are fixed in place on a print substrate, for example.
Flat cable connectors such as that described in the aforementioned reference have been proposed which satisfy the above-described demands. However, a connector for a so-called coaxial flat cable, in which there is an external conductor for each conductor in the flat cable, that satisfies the aforementioned demands has yet to be proposed. Note that the term “coaxial flat cable” as used in this specification includes not only coaxial flat cables having a unitary insulating sheath, but also coaxial flat cables in which separate coaxial cables having individual insulating layers are bundled together into flats.
The present invention was conceived in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has as its objective the provision of a coaxial flat cable connector which can be sufficiently reduced in height and which enables the connecting operation to be easily performed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides a connector for a coaxial flat cable that is provided with:
conducting plates disposed at both sides of the coaxial flat cable along the direction of thickness of the coaxial flat cable, in which external conductors and central conductors are each exposed by stripping away an insulating sheathing, the conducting plates gripping the coaxial flat cable while in a state of close contact with all the external conductors, and grounding the external conductors;
an insulating cover attached to one side of the conducting plate in the direction of the thickness thereof; and
an insulating housing which houses a plurality of contacts which are in contact with the central conductors, and is assembled together with the insulating cover so as to grip together with the cover the conducting plates from the other side thereof along the direction of thickness of the conducting plates;
wherein, a biasing means is provided to the insulating cover for biasing the central conductors toward the contacts.
A grounding latch, which is grounded to the earth, is provided to the insulating housing in the above-described connector. This grounding latch may be provided with a spring contact member that is brought into contact with the conducting plates by means of elastic force when the insulating cover which is attached to the conducting plates is assembled together with the insulating housing.
The biasing means may consist of mutually independent springs which individually bias the central conductors, or may consist of a metal plate in which the insulating cover is coated with an insulating film.
By means of the present invention's connector, when a coaxial flat cable in which external and central conductors have been exposed by peeling away the insulating sheathing is gripped along the direction of its thickness by conducting plates, the conducting plates are disposed so as to be in a state of close contact with all of the external conductors of the coaxial flat cable. As a result, all of the external conductors become grounded simply by grounding the conducting plates.
Thus, a flat cable and contact can be electrically and mechanically connected by attaching conducting plates, which are gripping the coaxial flat cable, to an insulating cover, and then assembling this insulating cover with the insulating housing along the direction of thickness of the flat cable, so that the conducting plates are gripped between the insulating cover and the insulating housing, which houses a plurality of contacts.
In this case, the biasing means which is provided to the insulating cover biases the central conductors of the flat cable toward the contacts. Thus, an appropriate contact pressure between the central conductors and the contracts can be achieved, enabling a sure connection.
In the above-described connector, by attaching a grounding latch to the insulating housing, and assembling an insulating cover, which is attached to the conducting plates which are gripping the flat cable, to the insulating housing, the conducting plates and the all the external conductors can be grounded by bringing the conducting plates into contact with the grounding latch which is grounded to the earth. In this case, if a spring contact member is provided to the grounding latch, then an appropriate contact pressure from elastic force can be achieved by the elastic deformation of this spring contact member when attaching the insulating cover to the insulating housing. As a result, a sure connection is enabled.
If a biasing means is formed using mutually independent spring members which individually bias the central conductors each central conductor is able to achieve a stable contact with the contacts. If the insulating cover is formed of a metal plate coated with an insulating film, then the biasing force of the biasing means can be maintained at a high level, while the insulating cover can be made thinner. Accordingly, the ability to reduce the height of the connector can be even further improved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3629787 (1971-12-01), Wilson
patent: 6031185 (2000-02-01), Bouveret et al.
Japanese Utility Model Application First Publication No. Hei 4-8285, Jan. 24, 1992.
Framatome Connectors International
Nguyen Son V.
Perman & Green LLP
Sircus Brian
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