Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-16
2002-05-07
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With mating connection region formed by bared cable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06383017
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors for flexible boards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese patent application Kokai No. 9-283235 discloses an electrical connector of this type.
As
FIG. 5
shows, this connector comprises a housing
53
and at least one first terminal
51
and at least one second terminal
52
, both of which are made by stamping a metal sheet and spaced at intervals in a first direction perpendicular to the picture plane. The first terminal
51
has a support arm
54
, a contact arm
55
, a fixing arm
56
, and a connection leg
57
provided in this order from top. The support arm
54
is made wide and rigid and has a substantially circular bearing section
54
A at the front end. The contact arm
55
is made elongated and flexible and has a contact section
55
A. The fixing arm
56
has an engaging projection
56
A. The connection leg
57
extends through the housing to a circuit board P. The first terminal
51
is inserted into a first slot of the housing
53
from the right, and the engaging projection
56
A lock it in place.
The second terminal
52
is identical with the first terminal
51
except that it has no fixing arm
56
. It is inserted into the housing
53
from the left, and the connection leg
58
extends to the left. The first and second terminals
51
and
52
are inserted alternately in opposite directions such that the contact sections
55
A and
59
A are arranged in a zigzag fashion as viewed from the top. The bearing sections
54
A of terminals
51
form a shaft that extends in the first direction and supports a pressure member
60
for rotation. The pressure member
60
is turned counterclockwise (F
2
) at a concave face
61
to a closed position where a pressure section
62
presses a flexible board
70
downwardly. The flexible board
70
has a reinforced section
71
and a circuit section
72
provided on the lower face of the reinforced section
71
.
In use, the pressure member
60
is turned clockwise (F
1
) about the bearing sections
54
A so as to provide a large space above the contact arms
55
, into which the flexible board
70
is inserted from the left such that the circuit section
72
are placed on the contact sections
55
A and
59
A.
Then, the pressure member
60
is turned counterclockwise (F
2
) to the closed position so that the flexible board
70
is pressed down by the pressure section
62
of the pressure member
60
, bringing the circuit section
72
into spring contact with the contact sections
55
A and
59
A for electrical connection.
There is a demand for a low-profile connector for miniaturizing the electronic equipment.
However, the connector has a large number of terminals, and the pressure member has a large width so that when it is turned to the closed position, the reactive force of the terminals warps and disengages the pressure member from the bearing sections. In order to prevent such disengagement, the pressure member has been made thick, resulting in the tall connector.
In addition, the contact sections of the first and second terminals are spaced in the second or horizontal direction so that in order to effectively press the flexible board against both the first and second contact sections, it is desired for the bearing sections to spaced far from the contact sections, leading to the even thicker pressure member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a low-profile connector with a thin pressure member that is able to effectively press down the flexible board against the first and second terminals spaced apart.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible board electrical connector which comprises a housing having an open mouth; at least one first terminal provided in the housing and having an first upper arm and a first lower arm with an upwardly extending first contact section; at least one second terminal provided in the housing and having a second upper arm and a second lower arm with an upwardly extending second contact section; a pressure member having first and second bearing sections that engage lower and upper edges of the first and second upper arms, respectively, for rotation between an open position where a flexible board is inserted through the open mouth such that a circuit face of the flexible board is placed on the first and second contact sections and a closed position where the flexible board is pressed against the first and second contact sections.
Since the pressure member is held between the first and second upper arms of the first and second terminals, it is possible to prevent the thin pressure member from falling from the housing. The first upper arm of the first terminal is made flexible so that it is flexed upwardly by the first bearing section when the pressure member is turned from the open position to the closed position while the pressure member is moved downwardly by a reactive force of the upper arm. Thus, the reactive force moves the pressure member downwardly to press down the flexible board so that the contact pressure for the second terminal is secured.
The upper arm of the second terminal is made flexible so that when the pressure member is moved downwardly, it is flexed downwardly by the second bearing section to thereby press down the flexible board. Consequently, the second upper arm of the second terminal presses down the flexible board so that the flexible board is brought into contact with the first and second contact sections ever if the first and second contact sections are spaced apart in the flexible board insertion/removal direction. The upper and lower arms of the second terminal are joined together by a linking section from which an engaging projection extends and engages an engaging hole of the housing with a play so that a part of the lower arm is flexed when the upper arm is flexed. This increases the degree of flexure and reduces the height of a connector.
The first and second contact sections of the first and second terminals are spaced apart in the flexible board insertion/removal direction. The distance between a center of rotation and a contact point between the pressure member and the flexible board becomes smallest at the closed position of the pressure member, keeping the pressure member at the closed position against the reactive force of the terminals, preventing the pressure member from falling by the reactive force.
When the pressure member is turned to the open position, at least one of the first and second bearing sections flexes upwardly the first and second upper arms of the first and second terminals to thereby increase a distance between the upper and lower arms. Consequently, the flexible board can be inserted into or removed from the housing with a zero insertion/removal force.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible board electrical connector, wherein the upper and lower arms of the second terminal are joined together by a linking section from which an engaging projection extends and engages an engaging hole of the housing with a play so that a part of the lower arm is flexed when the upper arm is flexed.
Since both the upper arm and a part of the lower arm are flexed, a large amount of flexure is obtained, making it possible to reduce the height of the connector by that much.
According to still another aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible board electrical connector which, unlike the first and second terminals according to the first and second aspects of the invention, comprises a single type of terminals that hold the pressure member between them at the closed position, thereby producing the same results. The pressure member having first and second bearing sections that engages lower and upper edges of the upper arms for rotation.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, a single type of terminals enables to insert or remove the flexible board with a zero-insertion/removal force.
According to the fourth aspect of the inventi
Hirose Electric Co. Ltd.
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Ta Tho D.
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