Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-22
2003-05-06
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06558187
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a connector for a flat circuit member, and more particularly to a flat circuit member connector in which an electrical contact portion, formed at an end portion of a flexible flat circuit member, is wound around a front end portion of a holder, and the front end portion of this holder is fitted and inserted into a terminal receiving portion of a connector housing, thereby electrically connecting conductors respectively to electrical connection terminals held in the terminal receiving portion.
FIG. 7
shows a related connector for a flat circuit member.
In the state that a connector connection portion (electrical contact portion)
3
, formed at an end portion of a rigid flat circuit member in the form of a printed circuit board
2
, is inserted into a slit-like terminal receiving portion
6
of a connector housing
5
of this flat circuit member connector
1
, resilient contact piece portions
8
a
of a plurality of pairs of opposed electrical connection terminals
8
,
8
, provided within the terminal receiving portion
6
, hold the connector connection portion
3
, and conducting portions (conductors)
11
, provided at the connector connection portion
3
, are electrically connected to the corresponding electrical connection terminals
8
, respectively.
Side limitation surfaces
6
a
for abutting against opposite side surfaces of the electrical connection terminals
8
to limit the lateral movement of the electrical connection terminals
8
, and rear limitation surfaces
6
b
for abutting against rear surfaces of the electrical connection terminals
8
are formed within the terminal receiving portion
6
of the connector housing
5
. The electrical connection terminals
8
are positioned and held against shaking by the side limitation surfaces
6
a
and the rear limitation surfaces
6
b.
However, in the above flat circuit member connector
1
, when the connector connection portion
3
is inserted into the terminal receiving portion
6
, this connector connection portion
3
, in some cases, is partially contacted hard with the corresponding electrical connection terminals
8
, thus causing an excessive rubbing engagement (interference) therebetween.
When such an excessive rubbing engagement occurs, the resilient contact piece portions
8
a
of those electrical connection terminals
8
, subjected to the excessive rubbing engagement, are resiliently deformed in a larger amount than those electrical connection terminals
8
, not subjected to the excessive rubbing engagement, and the connector connection portion
3
are inserted.
Therefore, the flat circuit member connector
1
varies in the inserting pressure acting on the connector connection portion
3
of the printed circuit board
2
, and therefore there is encountered a problem that the operation of inserting the printed circuit board
2
is made difficult.
The resilient contact piece portions
8
a
of part of the electrical contact terminals
8
are excessively deformed because of the excessive rubbing engagement, and as a result the contact positions and contact areas of the resilient contact piece portions
8
a
are delicately varied, thus inviting a fear that the electrical connection characteristics are degraded.
Therefore, there has been proposed a flat circuit member connector
10
as shown in FIG.
8
.
In this flat circuit member connector
10
, when the connector connection portion (electrical contact portion)
3
, formed at the end portion of the rigid printed circuit board
2
(shown in FIG.
7
), is inserted into a slit-like terminal receiving portion
13
of a connector housing
12
, a plurality of pairs of opposed electrical connection terminals
18
,
18
, provided within the terminal receiving portion
13
, hold the connector connection portion
3
, and conducting portions (conductors)
11
, provided at the connector connection portion
3
, are electrically connected respectively to the electrical connection terminals
18
disposed in opposed relation thereto.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, the electrical connection terminal
18
is formed by bending a thin metal sheet into a box-like shape, and a mounting pin
14
c
is formed at a lower end thereof, and an upper portion thereof is bent back into a bow-like shape to form a resilient contact piece portion
14
d.
A left side wall
14
a
and a right side wall
14
b
are formed by bending, and generally hold the resilient contact piece portion
14
d
therebetween from opposite (left and right) sides thereof.
Thus, the side walls
14
are formed to cover base portions of the resilient contact piece portion
14
d,
including the bent portion thereof, and an apex portion of this resilient contact piece portion
14
d
projects forwardly (right in
FIG. 9
) beyond the side walls
14
. As top per piece portion
14
e
is formed inwardly of the resilient contact piece portion
14
d
(on the inner side of the side wall
14
), and limits the excessive flexing of the resilient contact piece portion
14
d.
Namely, when an external force acts on the resilient contact piece portion
14
d
in a direction other than a proper flexing direction because of an excessive rubbing engagement of the printed circuit board
2
, the movement of the resilient contact piece portion
14
d
is limited by the side walls
14
a,
14
b.
When a large external force, greater than a predetermined level, acts on the resilient contact piece portion, the movement thereof is limited by the stopper piece portion
14
e,
and by doing so, the deformation of the resilient contact piece portion is prevented.
The above printed circuit board
2
is the rigid flat circuit member. Recently, instead of the printed circuit board
2
, there has been used a flexible flat circuit member such as a flexible printed circuit member (hereinafter referred to as “FPC”), having a wiring circuit printed on a film-like, thin flexible insulative substrate, and a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as “FFC”).
In the case of using such a flat circuit member such as an FPC and an FFC, there is used a connector for a flat circuit member. In this case, an electrical contact portion formed at an end portion of the flat circuit member is wound around a front end portion of a holder, and the front end portion of this holder is fitted and inserted into a terminal receiving portion of a connector housing, so that electrical connection terminals held in the terminal receiving portion holds conductors on the electrical contact portion, and therefore are electrically connected thereto.
Namely, the electrical contact portion formed at the end portion of the flexible flat circuit member is wound around the front end portion of the holder, and by doing so, the electrical connection terminals, held in the terminal receiving portion, can hold the conductors on the electrical contact portion, and therefore can be electrically connected thereto.
However, even in the case of employing the electrical connection terminals
18
in the flat circuit member connector
10
, there is a possibility that the excessive rubbing engagement is caused by a combination of various factors such as delicate inclination of the connector connection portion
3
at the time of insertion into the terminal receiving portion
13
, variations in the accuracy of positioning of the electrical connection terminals
18
in the terminal receiving portion
13
, and dimensional irregularities of the electrical connection terminals
18
.
Namely, when the connector connection portion
3
of the printed circuit board
2
is inserted into the terminal receiving portion
13
, a large force, in some cases, acts on this connector connection portion and the left and right side walls
14
a
and
14
b
(formed by bending) and stopper piece portions
14
e
of the electrical connection terminals
18
because of the excessive rubbing engagement. This causes variations in the inserting pressure, acting on the connector connection portion
3
, thus inviting a problem that the operation of inserting the printed circuit board
2
is made dif
Paumen Gary
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Yazaki -Corporation
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