Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-28
2004-05-25
Duverne, Jean F. (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06739903
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a connector structure, and more particularly to a connector structure for connecting a connection end portion of a flat circuit member.
2. Related Art
Flat circuit members, such as a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as “FPC”), formed by printing electrical conductors on an insulating film, and a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as “FFC”) formed by covering a plurality of parallel conductors with an insulating material, have heretofore been extensively used in a wire harness, designed to connect electric parts in an automobile, and various equipments such as a computer since such a flat circuit member can be installed in a narrow space because of its construction, and also can be provided on a moving part because of its flexible nature.
Such a flat circuit member itself has flexibility, and therefore when the flat circuit member is to be connected to a connector, its end portion must be formed into a rigid terminal.
Therefore, there has been proposed a cable fixing method (disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Hei. 9-330772) in which there is used a cable holder for holding a distal end portion of an FFC. With this method, a cumbersome operation, in which a distal end portion of a cable is gripped and is inserted into a mating connector, is eliminated, and besides the incomplete insertion of the FFC and the incomplete locking of the connector are eliminated.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, the cable holder
100
includes a main holder portion
101
defining a holder body, and an auxiliary holder portion
102
, and a distal end portion of the FFC
103
is held or fixed by these portions
101
and
102
.
An insulating film or coating, covering conductors, is removed a predetermined length from one side of the distal end portion of the FFC
103
so as to provide a conducting portion
109
serving as a connection end portion. A reinforcing plate
105
including a thin resin plate is bonded to the other side of the distal end portion of the FFC
103
. The distal end portion of the FFC
103
, to which the reinforcing plate
105
is bonded, serves as a reinforcing portion
104
, and notches
106
of a channel-shaped cross-section are formed respectively in opposite side edges of the reinforcing portion
104
.
A recess
110
, equal in width to the FFC
103
, is formed in the main holder portion
101
. Projections
107
of an elongate, convex shape, conforming in cross-section to the notches
106
in the FFC
103
, are formed respectively on opposite side walls of the recess
110
.
The auxiliary holder portion
102
is pressed or pushed into the recess
110
in the main holder portion
101
from the front side, and is fixed to the main holder portion
101
. Therefore, grooves
108
of a channel-shaped cross-section, corresponding respectively to the projections
107
, are formed in opposite side surfaces of the auxiliary holder portion
102
, respectively. In order to retain the auxiliary holder portion
102
against disengagement, thus pushed into the recess
110
from the front side, retaining claws
111
are formed on the main holder portion
101
whereas notches
112
are formed in the auxiliary holder portion
102
.
For attaching the FFC
103
to the cable holder
100
of the above construction, the notches
106
in the FFC
103
are registered respectively with the projections
107
on the main holder portion
101
, and then the FFC
103
is pressed toward the bottom of the recess
110
. Then, the grooves
108
in the auxiliary holder portion
102
are registered with the projections
107
, respectively, and then the auxiliary holder portion
102
is pushed hard toward the main holder portion
101
.
Then, when the auxiliary holder portion
102
is further pushed, the retaining claws
111
are engaged respectively in the notches
112
, with a gap, corresponding to the thickness of the reinforcing portion
104
, formed between the auxiliary holder portion
102
and the bottom of the recess
110
. Therefore, the auxiliary holder portion
102
is fixed to the main holder portion
101
by the retaining claws
111
, and cooperates with the main holder portion
101
to hold the reinforcing portion
104
therebetween in a fixed manner. In this condition, a stepped inner surface of a lower portion of the main holder portion
101
and a stepped inner surface of a lower portion of the auxiliary holder portion
102
jointly form a holder guide portion defining a space corresponding to an outer shape of the mating connector (not shown).
The FFC
103
, thus held by the holder main potion
101
and the auxiliary holder portion
102
with the distal end portion thereof projecting into the holder guide portion, is firmly held against movement in the length of the cable since the projections
107
are engaged in the notches
106
, respectively.
In the cable holder
100
of the above construction, however, the reinforcing plate
105
must beforehand be bonded to the FFC
103
so as to form the reinforcing portion
104
at the distal end portion of the FFC
103
. Therefore, there are encountered problems that the efficiency of the assembling operation is low and that the production cost increases.
And besides, the notches
106
are formed in the opposite side edges of the reinforcing portion
104
, respectively, and therefore in the case where the flat circuit member is an FFC having a plurality of parallel conductors covered with an insulating material, the conductors can not be provided at the opposite side portions of the cable, thus inviting a problem that the percentage of utilization of the flat circuit member is low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the invention is to overcome the above problems, and more specifically to provide a connector structure in which a connection end portion of a flexible flat circuit member is easily formed into a terminal so as to be connected to a connector, and besides even when the connection end portion is formed into the terminal, the percentage of utilization of the flat circuit member is prevented from being lowered, and the stable connection performance can be obtained.
The above object of the invention has been achieved by a connector structure wherein a connection end portion of a flexible flat circuit member is inserted into a terminal receiving chamber in a connector housing, and conductors, exposed to the connection end portion, are electrically connected respectively to a plurality of connection terminals received in the terminal receiving chamber; CHARACTERIZED in that:
the connection end portion of the flat circuit member is provisionally held on obverse and reverse surfaces of a flat plate portion of a holder, which is to be fitted into the connector housing, in a folded-back manner, so that the conductors, provided on the connection end portion at predetermined intervals in parallel relation to one another, are arranged on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the flat plate portion; and
electrical connection portions of the connection terminals grasp the conductors, disposed on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the flat plate portion, respectively, so that the flat circuit member is electrically connected to the connection terminals.
In the above construction, the connection end portion of the flat circuit member, at which the conductors are exposed, is provisionally held on the flat plate portion of the holder in a folded-back manner, and then the holder is fitted into the connector housing, and merely by doing so, the conductors, disposed on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the flat plate portion, can be held respectively by the electrical connection portions of the connection terminals, received in the terminal receiving chamber, in a grasped manner, and therefore are electrically connected thereto.
Therefore, it is not necessary to bond a reinforcing plate to the connection end portion of the flat circuit member, and the efficiency of the assembling operation is enhanced. And besides, the connection
Aoki Hiroshi
Endo Takayoshi
Duverne Jean F.
Yazaki -Corporation
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