Retainer for electrical connector and electrical connector

Details Retainer for electrical connector and electrical connector Retainer for electrical connector and electrical connector

2000-08-01

2001-11-13

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

06315602

ABSTRACT:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Japanese Patent Application No.11-220283, the abstract of disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retainer, called slider, for use in an electrical connector for connecting a flexible board such as called FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) board, or a flexible flat cable such as FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) to a circuit board, as well as to an electrical connector including the same.
2. Description of Related Arts
As a slide-type retainer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “slider”) used in the connectors of this type, various types have been proposed which are formed of a synthetic resin material as a whole and include a transversely extended main body having an insertable projection and a pair of connection arms extended therefrom (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. 6-82783(1994), Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette Nos. 7-106028(1995) and 9-283236(1997). Along with an FPC board (Flexible Printed Circuit board), the insertable projection is inserted in an insertion space of a synthetic-resin housing retaining a group of contacts, thereby pressing the FPC board into contact with the contact group. On the other hand, the pair of connection arms serve to interconnect the housing and the retainer, as extended from transversely opposite ends of the main body along lateral side surfaces of the housing in a manner to sandwich the insertable projection therebetween.
The recent demand for a thin, compact connector (of a so-called thin design) dictates the need to provide a thin, compact retainer.
However, in a case where the thin, compact retainer is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material in one molding step, the connection arms, in particular, are reduced in strength, becoming more prone to deform or fracture.
Additionally, the connection arms are exposed to the lateral sides of the housing and hence subject to external forces. This results in a greater possibility of fracture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention contemplates a solution to the above problem and has an object to provide a retainer for electrical connector which is small in size but great in strength thereby to allow the connector to realize a layout having the connection arms inserted into the housing which need not be upsized.
According to a preferred mode of the invention for achieving the above object, a retainer for electrical connector for establishing pressure contact between an end of a flat cable inserted in an insertion space of a housing of the connector and a plurality of contacts in the insertion space comprises a main body formed of a synthetic resin, and a pair of connection arms made of metal and fixed to the main body, wherein the connection arms are connected to the housing as allowed to slide in a predetermined direction.
The connection arms are formed of metal so as to be reduced in thickness and size as well as to ensure the strength. Because of the thin, small connection arms, a layout with the connection arms unexposed to the lateral sides of the housing may be embodied in the connector which need not be upsized.
Preferably, the main body includes an elongate body section, and an insertable projection extended from the body section to be inserted in the insertion space, whereas the connection arms each include a buried portion buried in the body section during the molding of the main body, and a projecting portion projecting from the body section along the above predetermined sliding direction. In this case, the connection arms are inserted in the main body while it is being molded so as to be rigidly combined with the synthetic-resin main body.
Further preferably, the housing includes slide grooves for slidably receiving the respective projecting portions of the connection arms, and respective pairs of side walls corresponding to the respective slide grooves, the respective pairs of side walls preventing the corresponding projecting portions inserted in the slide grooves from exposing themselves to the lateral sides of the housing.
This arrangement allows each connection arm to be guided on its opposite sides, thus ensuring the stable guiding of each connection arm. As a result, the connection arm is prevented from disengaging from the housing or assuming a diagonal position. Additionally, the connection arms are free from unwanted external forces, thus being less prone to fracture.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4431248 (1984-02-01), Huntley et al.
patent: 4621885 (1986-11-01), Szczesny et al.
patent: 5021002 (1991-06-01), Noschese
patent: 5882223 (1999-03-01), Igarashi
patent: 6116941 (2000-09-01), Kuo
patent: 6155864 (2000-12-01), Yoshiura
patent: 3248522 (1984-07-01), None
patent: UM6-82783 (1994-11-01), None
patent: 7-106028 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 9-283236 (1997-10-01), None

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