Patent Grant
8267700
The present invention relates to a connector structure and in particular to a connector structure in which a flexible circuit board is used and a female connector and a male connector manufactured by application of plating technique and photolithography technique are used.
In recent years, size-reducing, thinning, weight-reducing, and multi-functioning of various electric/electronic apparatuses have rapidly advanced, and, in particular, in the fields of mobile phones, flat panel displays, and various mobile apparatuses, the competition over thinning between companies is intense. Such a trend, of course, increases a demand for size-reducing/thinning of various electric/electronic parts mounted on circuit boards installed in these electric/electronic apparatuses.
Further, a connector that relays electrical connection between circuit parts is also required to be reduced in size and thinned, and, in terms of the connector, size-reducing thereof can be made by achieving a narrow pitch (space saving) between connector terminals, and thinning thereof can be achieved by reducing the height of a connecting portion.
A female connector and a male connector, particularly, the female connector is conventionally manufactured by performing punching work using a die to a metal plate material. However, in the case of a connector structure in which the female connector and the male connector manufactured by this method were connected to each other, it was very difficult to reduce the height of a connecting portion to 1.0 mm or less, and narrow a pitch between terminals to 0.5 mm or less.
Further, in such a conventional manufacturing method, with further size reduction and thinning of connectors to be manufactured, there is such a problem that product failures occur frequently, assembling workability is poor, mounting failure occurs when it is mounted on a circuit board by soldering, and therefore disconnection of the female connector and the male connector from each other occurs between connector connecting portions on impact at an assembling time of an apparatus.
In order to solve such a problem, a connector structure in which a flexible circuit board was used and in which a female connector and a male connector manufactured by using plating technique and photolithography technique were assembled to each other was developed (see Patent Literature 1).
In this connector structure, a female connector and a male connector can be repeatedly attached to and detached from each other, the height of a connecting portion between the female connector and the male connector can easily be reduced to 0.5 mm or less, and a pitch between terminals can be narrowed to 0.5 mm or less, so that the connector structure can be said to be excellent in height reduction and space saving.
The connector structure according to the Patent Literature 1 described above is excellent in height reduction and space saving. However, in the course of examination of improvement in actual use of the connector structure, it has been founded that there remains problems, such as further improvement in assembling workability of the female connector and the male connector to each other, and capability of maintaining firmer connection at the connecting portion between both the connectors even if, for example, an external impact or external vibrations are applied thereto after both the connectors are assembled to each other.
An object of the present invention is to provide a connector structure with a novel structure which solves the above problems while utilizing the excellent points which the above connector structure according to Patent Literature 1 has, which can achieve height reduction and space saving of a connecting portion between a female connector and a male connector that is formed by assembling both the connectors to each other, which makes it possible to attach/detach the female connector and the male connector to/from each other repeatedly, which makes it possible to perform assembling work of the female connector and the male connector smoothly, and which has large and stable retaining force between the connectors after assembled.
In order to solve the above problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector structure constructed by assembling
a female connector provided with a flexible circuit board including female terminal portions comprising an insulating film having flexibility, a plurality of pad portions formed on one face of the insulating film, conductor circuit patterns drawn out of the pad portions, first through-holes formed in a thickness direction of the insulating film within faces of the pad portions, and small holes communicating coaxially with the first through-holes and formed within the faces of the pad portions; and a female-side engaging member which is a foil-like body fixedly arranged on the opposite face of the flexible circuit board from a formation face of the pad portions thereof and which has second through-holes with a size larger than those of the first through-holes communicating coaxially with the first through-holes in the female terminal portions and formed in a thickness direction of the foil-like body; and
a male connector provided with a circuit board including male terminal portions comprising an insulating member, connecting pins formed in a projecting manner on one face of the insulating member at positions corresponding to the female terminal portions, and conductor circuit patterns drawn out of proximal portions of the connecting pins; and a male-side engaging member which is fixedly arranged on the same face as a formation face of the connecting pins of the circuit board and is engaged with the female-side engaging member of the female connector, wherein
the female-side engaging member is fixedly arranged on the flexible circuit board in the state where the respective female terminal portions and portions of the flexible circuit board positioned in the vicinities of the female terminal portions are positioned within the respective faces of the second through-holes and the other portion of the flexible circuit board and the female-side engaging member are integrated with each other.
In this case, the female-side engaging member has an elastically deformable portion formed as a portion of the foil-like body outside the second through-holes, and the circuit board of the male connector may be a flexible circuit board like the case of the female connector, or it may be a rigid circuit board.
Further, the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member are fixedly arranged on the flexible circuit board and the circuit board, respectively, so as to maintain such a predetermined positional relationship that the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions can be connected to each other, and
either one or both of the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member exert a positioning and guiding function to the other at an engaging time of the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member and a retaining function to the other after the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member are engaged with each other.
Specifically, there is provided the connector structure, wherein
at an assembling time of the female connector in which the female-side engaging member has the aforementioned elastically deformable portion and the male connector to each other,
the connecting pins of the male terminal portions are inserted through the small holes into the first through-holes of the female terminal portions from the formation face of the pad portions, the pad portions and portions of the insulating film on which the pad portions are formed are flexed in an insertion direction of the connecting pins, and the pad portions are brought into pressure contact with the connecting pins by elasticity of the pad portions and the insulating film, and
the female-side engaging member of the female connector is engaged with the male-side engaging member of the male connector, the elastically deformable portion of the female-side engaging member is brought into pressure contact with the male-side engaging member by elastic force based on elastic deformation of the elastically deformable portion, so that a retaining function between the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member is exerted.
More specifically,
there is provided the connector structure, wherein
the elastically deformable portion of the female-side engaging member is a spring arm portion formed on each of both side portions of the foil-like body by providing a wedge-shaped slit whose width becomes narrower along a longitudinal direction of the foil-like body,
the male-side engaging member is a frame-like body which partially surrounds the connecting pins and which has a receiving portion for receiving the female-side engaging member and a drawing notch portion for drawing the flexible circuit board, and
at an engaging time of the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member with each other, an outer wall face of the spring arm portion is brought in pressure contact with an inner wall face on each of both side portions of the frame-like body (hereinafter, this connector structure is referred to as a connector structure A); and
there is provided the connector structure, wherein
the elastically deformable portion of the female-side engaging member is a notch ring body formed integrally with the female-side engaging member,
the male-side engaging member is a column-shaped projection having a larger diameter than an inner diameter of the notch ring body, and
at the engaging time of the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member with each other, the notch ring body is in pressure contact with the column-shaped projection by elastic force (restoring force) of the notch ring body diametrically expanded (hereinafter, this connector structure is referred to as a connector structure B).
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided the connector structure, wherein
a layer of adhesive agent is formed partially or entirely on the face of the flexible circuit board except for the formation face of the pad portions, or partially or entirely on the face of the circuit board except for the formation face of the connecting pins,
the connecting pins of the male terminal portions are inserted via the small holes into the first through-holes of the female terminal portions from the formation face of the pad portions, the pad portions and portions of the insulating film on which the pad portions are formed are flexed in an insertion direction of the connecting pins, the pad portions are brought into pressure contact with the connecting pins by elasticity of the pad portions and insulating film, and the female connector and the male connector are bonded to each other via the layer of adhesive agent (hereinafter, this connector structure is referred to as a connector structure C).
Further, according to the present invention, a female connector and a male connector that are used to assemble the connector structure described above are provided, and a flexible circuit board provided with the female connector described above and a flexible circuit board or a rigid circuit board provided with the male connector described above are provided.
The connector structure according to the present invention is assembled by assembling the female connector and the male connector which have the above structures to each other, and, when both the connectors are assembled to each other, the connecting pins (the male terminal portions) formed on the circuit board itself which is a mating member to the flexible circuit board are inserted into the female terminal portions formed on the flexible circuit board itself through the small holes from the formation face of the pad portions to be inserted into the first through-holes, so that both the terminal portions are connected to each other and the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member are simultaneously engaged with each other.
Since the pad portions of the female terminal portions are formed from highly elastic material, the pad portions are flexed and elastically deformed at an insertion time of the connecting pins in an insertion direction thereof and brought into pressure contact with the connecting pins by restoring force of the pad portions, so that a conduction structure is formed, and simultaneously the connecting pins (the male terminal portions) are mechanically held by the female terminal portions.
Here, on one face of the flexible circuit board of the female connector, the female-side engaging member having the second through-holes that are larger in diameter than the first through-holes of the female terminal portions is fixedly arranged with the female terminal portions included within the faces of the second through-holes. In other words, portions of the flexible circuit board that are positioned in the vicinities of the first through-holes are integrated with the female-side engaging member so that they are fixed to the female-side engaging member.
That is, the portions of the flexible circuit board that are positioned in the vicinities of the first through-holes are prevented from flexing itself or bending itself backward, as long as the female-side engaging member is not flexed or bent backward.
Therefore, all the female terminal portions positioned within the faces of the second through-holes are present at predetermined designed positions, keeping flexibility, without causing generating two-dimensional or three-dimensional positional deviation. From this reason, when the female connector and the male connector are assembled to each other, the connecting pins projecting at predetermined designed positions and the female terminal portions are collectively connected to each other at once without causing positional deviation.
Further, since the female-side engaging member is integrally provided with the elastically deformable portions such as the spring arm portions (in the case of the connector structure A) or the notch ring bodies (in the case of the connector structure B) and the female-side engaging member is engaged with the male-side engaging member while the elastically deformable portions are being deformed, the elastically deformable portions are brought into pressure contact with the male-side engaging member by the restoring force of the elastically deformable portions, and thus the female-side engaging member is firmly held by the male-side engaging member.
Further, in the case of the connector structure C in which the elastically deformable portions are not formed in the female-side engaging member, at the same time as the terminal portions of both the connectors are connected to each other, the female connector and the male connector are bonded and fixed to each other by the layer of adhesive agent formed on faces of opposite faces of the female connector and the male connector except the formation faces of the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions, so that the connection between both the connectors is firmly held.
Therefore, in the cases of these connector structures according to the present invention, the retaining force between both the connectors is much larger and more stable, and the reliability of connection between both the connectors is higher, as compared with those in the case of the connector structure that is not provided with engaging members (the connector structure disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4059522).
Since the female terminal portions of the female connector are formed in the flexible circuit board itself using the thin insulating film as a base member, and the male terminal portions of the male connector are bump-like connecting pins formed on a surface of the circuit board in a projecting manner, the connecting portions between both the connectors are reduced in height, and it is also possible to realize a space-saving multiple-pin structure in which the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix and a pitch between terminals is made narrow.
Accordingly, since the connector structure can sufficiently meet the requirements of downsizing and thinning and have large and stable retaining force between connectors, the connector structure can also be used as a highly-reliable connector structure in an electric/electronic apparatus to which an external impact or vibrations are applied.
In a connector structure according to the present invention, as described later, female terminal portions formed on a flexible circuit board itself and male terminal portions formed on another circuit board itself are assembled to each other so that connecting portions of both the circuit boards are formed.
Further, engaging members are, as described later, fixedly arranged at predetermined portions on the respective circuit boards corresponding to the connecting portions thereof, and the positional relationship between these engaging members is designed to automatically connect the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions to each other when both the engaging members are engaged with each other.
Further, as described later, the female-side engaging member which is fixedly arranged on the flexible circuit board and which has second through-holes that are larger in diameter than first through-holes of the female terminal portions functions as fixing means adapted to fix portions of the flexible circuit board positioned in the respective vicinities of the female terminal portions.
Either one of the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member or both thereof are, as described later, provided with a function to position and guide both the engaging members at engaging time between both the engaging members and a retaining function to firmly retain both the engaging members after the engaging members are engaged with each other, thereby stabilizing a connection state between the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions.
In the case of connector structures A and B, when the female-side engaging member is engaged with the male-side engaging member by exerting the positioning and guiding function, elastically deformable portions of the female-side engaging member are elastically deformed, and brought into pressure contact with the male-side engaging member by causing elastic force (restoring force) based on the elastic deformation, so that the female-side engaging member is firmly held by the male-side engaging member. At the same time, the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions are connected to each other, and the connection state at the connecting portions is retained so that a conduction structure is formed.
Further, in the case of a connector structure C, when column-shaped projections (male-side engaging members) of a male connector are inserted into guide holes of the female-side engaging member of a female connector and they are pressed together, the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions are connected to each other, and simultaneously the female connector and the male connector are bonded/fixed to each other via a layer of adhesive agent, so that the connection state in the conduction structure formed is firmly retained.
Hereinafter, the connector structures according to the invention of the present application will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the connector structure A will be explained.
Here, as shown in
Here, as shown in
A plurality of (24 in a matrix in
As the insulating film 1 that is a base member of the flexible circuit board A3, for example, a film made from resin such as polyimide, polyester, liquid crystal polymer, or polyether ether ketone, a thin glass epoxy composite plate, or a BT resin plate can be used. For the purpose of height reduction of the connector structure, the thickness of the insulating film 1 is preferably as thin as possible as long as it maintains mechanical strength.
As a material of the pad portion 2, as described later, in view of formation of the conduction structure between the female connector and the male connector due to pressure contact of the pad portion with the connecting pin of the male connector at the time of connection to the male connector, a material having spring elasticity as well as conductivity is preferred, in particular, copper, nickel, stainless steel, nickel alloy, or beryllium copper alloy is preferred. Considering that the pad portion exerts good spring elasticity, the thickness of the pad portion 2 is preferably not very thick, and the upper limit thereof is preferably set at about 100 μm.
When the flexible circuit board A3 is manufactured, for example, a one-side copper-clad film is prepared, photolithography and etching techniques are applied to a surface of the one-side copper-clad film positioned on the side of a copper foil thereof to, while leaving portions of the copper foil where the pad portions 2 are to be formed and the conductor circuit patterns 3 are to be printed, remove the remaining portion of the copper foil, then the first through-holes 4 having a predetermined diameter are formed just on top of the respective pad portions 2 by performing irradiation of laser light to the one-side copper-clad film from the opposite face of the film from the formation face of the pad portions 2, and subsequently, the small holes 5 coaxially communicating with the first through-holes 4 are formed within the faces of the pad portions 2 by masking portions of the surface, positioned on the side of the pad portions 2, of the film other than portions of the film in which the small holes 5 are to be formed and then performing etching process of copper thereon.
Incidentally, when the pad portion 2 is formed from the afore-mentioned alloy material having excellent spring elasticity, the pad portion may be formed by also removing the copper foil of the pad portion to be formed at the etching removal time of the copper foil from the one-side copper-clad film to expose a film face, and sputtering the alloy material onto the film face.
Then, as shown in
Incidentally, the flexible circuit board used in the connector structure according to the present invention is not limited to a one-side circuit board such as described above but may be, for example, a flexible double-sided circuit board on both faces of which the pad portions 2 described above are formed or the side of a flexible circuit board of a flexible-rigid multilayered circuit board. Further, a coverlay may be applied to the conductor circuit pattern 3.
Next, the female-side engaging member A4 will be explained.
The female-side engaging member A4, first, functions as fixing means adapted to fix portions of the insulating film 1 of the flexible circuit board that are positioned in the vicinities of the female terminal portions D, when the female connector A1 and the male connector A2 are connected to each other.
Unless the female-side engaging member A4 is fixedly arranged, the flexible circuit board A3 is put in a state shown in
However, if the foil-like female-side engaging member A4, such as shown in
In this manner, the female-side engaging member A4 functions as fixing means adapted to fix the portions of the flexible circuit board positioned in the vicinities of the female terminal portions D, and simultaneously, it functions as a supporting member for facilitating assembling workability, ensuring strong retaining force between both the connectors, and supporting and protecting connector connecting portions in the thin flexible circuit board A1, when the female connector A1 and the male connector A2 are assembled to each other.
As a constituent material of the female-side engaging member A4, considering that, when the female connector and the male connector are assembled to each other, the member A4 functions as a member which prevents the positional deviation due to flexion of the vicinity of the female terminal portion D in the flexible circuit board A1 to f ix the vicinity, and which engages with the male-side engaging member to retain both the connectors with high retaining force, a metal material having high strength and rigidity, for example, copper, iron, nickel, stainless steel, aluminum, or one of these materials whose surfaces have been plated is preferred.
Further, a sheet made of resin such as polyimide, polyester, polyether ether ketone, liquid crystal polymer, polyamide, or PEN, a fiber-reinforced plastic composite material sheet such as a glass fiber-epoxy resin sheet, or a laminated sheet of these materials can be used.
If the thickness of the sheet is too thin to be strong enough, the female-side engaging member A4 is flexed at an engaging time with the male-side engaging member, causing difficulty in engaging work, or if the thickness of the sheet is too thick, the reduction in heights of the connecting portions is obstructed. Therefore, the thickness of the sheet is preferably set at about 50 to 300 μm.
The female-side engaging member A4 is a foil-like body having the same two-dimensional shape as a formation portion of the female terminal portion D in the flexible circuit board A3 in which the female terminal portions D are formed, and within the face of the female-side engaging member A4, it has second through-holes 6 formed in a thickness direction thereof and a pair of elastically deformable portions 7, 7 formed on both side portions thereof.
The entire two-dimensional shape of the female-side engaging member A4 is so formed as to be received in a receiving portion 10 of the male-side engaging member A6 shown in
The second through-hole 6 is formed coaxially with the first through-hole 4 in the female terminal portion D of the flexible circuit board A3 shown in
Therefore, in the female terminal portion D of the female connector A1 shown in
The shelf-like portion 6a is a vertically-bendable flexible portion, but a portion of the insulating film 1 that is positioned outside the shelf-like portion 6a is integrated with the female-side engaging member A4 fixedly arranged and it is fixed in a state that it cannot move in a floating manner or cannot flex.
The elastically deformable portions 7, 7 formed on both side portions of the female-engaging member A4 are elastically deformed when the female connector and the male connector are assembled to each other, and the female-side engaging member A4 comes into pressure contact with the male-side engaging member owing to elastic force (restoring force) thereof, thereby securing the retaining force between both the connectors.
The elastically deformable portions 7 of the female-side engaging member A4 in
Incidentally, a projecting portion 8 projecting outward is formed at a central position of the female-side engaging member A4 in a widthwise direction thereof, and corresponding to the projecting portion 8, a recessed portion 12 whose two-dimensional shape is triangular to conform to the shape of the projecting portion 8 and fit the projecting portion 8 (see
It is preferred that the projecting portion 8 that is fitted in the recessed portion 12 is formed in advance, because, by using the projecting portion 8 as a mark to align the projecting portion 8 with the recessed portion 12, fitting both the portions to each other, and then pushing the female-side engaging member A4 into the male-side engaging member A6, engaging work between the female-side engaging member A4 and the male-side engaging member A6 can be performed smoothly in a state that both the members have been positioned to each other.
When the female-side engaging member A4 is fixedly arranged on the flexible circuit board A3, it is possible to manufacture the female-side engaging member A4 having the shape shown in
Further, prior to formation of the female-side terminal portions D of the flexible circuit board A3, it is possible to conform the two-dimensional shape of the flexible circuit board to that of a targeted female-side engaging member A4, then form a thin layer of a metal material by applying known nonelectrolytic plating and electrolytic plating to the opposite face of the insulating film from the face of the pad portions in the board, then form the second through-holes by application of photolithography and etching techniques, and thereafter manufacture the female terminal portions on the board.
Incidentally, the above explanation has been made about the female-side engaging member A4 in which one second through-hole 6 is formed per one female terminal portion D of the flexible circuit board A3, but, as the female-side engaging member, for example, as shown in
Next, the male connector A2 shown in
As shown in
Here, as the circuit board A5, a flexible circuit board such as shown in
Incidentally, the following explanation is made on the assumption that the circuit board A5 is a flexible circuit board.
As shown in
When the connector structure A shown in
Therefore, such male terminal portions E are so formed as to maintain a positional relationship corresponding to a plurality of female terminal portions D in the first flexible circuit board A3 of the female connector A1, respectively, when the female connector A1 and the male connector A2 are assembled to each other.
The connecting pin 9 projecting from a surface of the circuit board A5 is larger in diameter than the small hole 5 and the first through-hole 4 of the female terminal portion D of the female connector A1, and smaller in diameter than the second through-hole 6 of the female-side engaging member A4. Further, it is preferable that the height of the connecting pin 9 is set such that a distal end portion of the connecting pin 9 does not project from the second through-hole 6 when the connecting pin 9 is inserted into the female terminal portion D. This is because the connecting pin can be prevented from being damaged, and can be protected, after both the connectors are assembled to each other.
When the circuit board A5 is manufactured, if the circuit board A5 is a flexible circuit board, for example, a one-side copper-clad film is prepared, and the connecting pin 9 provided on the surface 1b of the insulating film 1 in a projected manner, such as shown in
Incidentally, the connecting pin 9 is slid on the pad portion 2 when being inserted into the female terminal portion D, so that, as a material of the connecting pin 9, a relatively hard metal such as copper, nickel, gold, palladium, rhodium, or silver, or alloy is preferably used.
The male-side engaging member A6 such as shown in
As shown in
Incidentally, as described above, the recessed portion 12 for fitting the projecting portion 8 of the female-side engaging member A4 shown in
Incidentally, the shape of the male-side engaging member is not limited to the shape shown in
When the male-side engaging member A6 is fixedly arranged on the circuit board A5, it is possible to produce the frame-like body as a separated member in advance, and then bond it to the circuit board A5 with adhesive agent such as sticky adhesive agent, thermosetting adhesive agent, or hot-melt adhesive agent, or it is also possible to form it by plating technique simultaneously when the connecting pins 9 are formed in the manufacturing process of the circuit board A5.
As a material of the male-side engaging member A6, various metal materials or resin materials similar to those of the female-side engaging member A4 can be proposed, but a metal material such as stainless steel is preferred for the same reason described above as in the case of the female-side engaging member A4. It is preferable that the thickness of the male-side engaging member A6 is also set at about 50 to 300 μm for the same reason as in the case of the female-side engaging member A4.
When the connector structure A of the present invention shown in
At this time, as shown in
Then, since the small hole 5 and the first through-hole 4 of the female terminal portion D are smaller in diameter than the connecting pin 9, the small hole 5 and the first through-hole 4 are diametrically expanded in the course of insertion of the connecting pin 9, and simultaneously portions of the pad portion 2 and of the insulating film 1 positioned on top thereof, namely, the shelf-like portion 6a is flexed upward and elastically deformed.
As a result, since elastic force (restoring force) of the pad portion 2 and the insulating film 1 is generated, as shown in
At this time, since a portion of the insulating film 1 that is positioned in the vicinity of each female terminal portion, namely, a portion of the insulating film 1 that is positioned outside the shelf-like portion 6a is integrally fixed to the female-side engaging member A4 made of a rigid material of high strength, the portion is not flexed vertically or horizontally in the course of the assembling described above. Therefore, the positions of the hole centers of the first through-holes 4 in all the female terminal portions D are not deviated from their design reference points. As a result, all the first through-holes 4 and the connecting pins 9 corresponding thereto can be collectively connected to each other at once without causing positional deviation.
In the pressure contact structure of the pad portion and the connecting pin with each other, as shown in
Further, if, prior to assembling the female connector and the male connector to each other, an annular resin elastic body 121 having the same inner diameter as the first through-hole 4 and the same outer diameter as the second through-hole 6 is arranged on the shelf-like portion 6a in the second through-hole formed in the female-side engaging member A4 of the female connector, as shown in
As such a resin elastic body, cured silicone resin is preferred, particularly, one whose rubber hardness degree specified by JIS K 6253 is equal to or less than 100 degrees is preferred.
In the connector structure A in
That is, as shown in
Further, since the spring arm portions 7 are pushed toward the center of the width of (to the inside of) the female-side engaging member A4 when the female-side engaging member A4 of the female connector A1 is received in the male-side engaging member (frame-like body) A6 of the male connector A2 to engage them with each other, the spring arm portions 7 are flexed inward and elastically deformed, so that, after the reception, spring forces stored in the spring arm portions 7 act outward (direction indicated by arrows in
In order to obtain a connector structure that is not separated at the connecting portions even if it is subjected to vibrations or an impact, it is possible to increase the above-mentioned retaining force. In order to meet such a requirement, the following structure is preferably adopted.
That is, as shown in
When the female-side engaging member A4 and the male-side engaging member A6 are engaged with each other, the projecting portion 7d of the outer wall face of the spring arm portion 7 gets under the projecting portion 13b of the inner wall face of the male-side engaging member A6, and therefore the retaining force between both the members is much larger than the retaining force in the structure shown in
Next, the connector structure B of the present invention will be explained.
The female connector B1 comprises a flexible circuit board B3 having the same structure as the flexible circuit board A3 in the connector structure A and a female-side engaging member B4 fixedly arranged on the opposite face of the flexible circuit board B3 from the formation face of the pad portions.
Incidentally, the female-side engaging member B4 also functions as fixing means adapted to fix portions of the insulating film of the flexible circuit board positioned in the vicinities of the female terminal portions D in the flexible circuit board B3, as in the case of the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A.
On the other hand, the male connector B2 comprises a circuit board B5 having the same structure as the circuit board A5 in the connector structure A and male-side engaging members B6 fixedly arranged at four corners of the same face as the formation face of the connecting pins 9 of the circuit board B5 in a predetermined positional relationship with the connecting pins 9.
First, the female-side engaging member B4 is the same as the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A in that it is a foil-like body and that the second through-holes 6 are formed within the face thereof coaxially with the small holes and the first through-holes of the female terminal portions of the flexible circuit board B3, but different therefrom in that the elastically deformable portions are notch ring bodies 14 formed integrally at the four corners of the foil-like body.
As shown in
For such a reason, as a material of the female-side engaging member B4, a highly-elastic material is preferred, and specifically the same material as that of the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A, for example, stainless steel is preferred.
Then, the female-side engaging member B4 is fixedly arranged on the flexible circuit board B3 in a similar manner to that in the case of the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A.
On the other hand, the male-side engaging members B6 in the male connector B2 are column-shaped projections 15.
The column-shaped projections 15 are formed at four spots on the male connector B2, and they are formed at positions corresponding to the ring holes 14c of the notch ring bodies (elastically deformable portions) 14 of the female connector B3 coaxially with the corresponding ring holes 14c. Further, the height of the column-shaped projection 15 is equal to or slightly larger than the thickness of the notch ring body 14, and the diameter thereof is larger than that of the ring hole 14c.
Therefore, since, when the column-shaped projections (male-side engaging members) 15 of the male connector B2 are inserted into the ring holes 14c of the notch ring bodies (female-side engaging members) 14 of the female connector B1, the ring holes 14c are diametrically expanded, the notch ring bodies 14 are elastically deformed, and, at this point, the connecting pins (male terminal portions E) 9 of the male connector 13, and the female terminal portions D of the female connector B1 are positioned to each other. When the insertion of the column-shaped projections 15 into the notch ring bodies 14 is completed, the pad portions of the female terminal portions and the connecting pins of the male terminal portions are simultaneously connected to each other, as shown in
Further, since the notch ring body 14 elastically deformed generates restoring force that restores the ring hole 14c diametrically expanded to its original inner diameter, the column-shaped projection 15 inserted is retained in pressure contact with the notch ring body 14.
At this time, as shown in
According to such a configuration, when the column-shaped projection 15 is inserted into the notch ring body 14, as shown in
Incidentally, insertion of the column-shaped projection 15 into the notch ring body 14 can be smoothly performed, since the tapered face 14e described above is formed on the inner wall face of the notch ring portion 14.
Incidentally, in the connector structure shown in
For example, as shown in
Next, the connector structure C according to the present invention will be explained.
The female connector C1 comprises a flexible circuit board C3 having the same structure as that of the flexible circuit board A3 in the connector structure A and a female-side engaging member C4 fixedly arranged on the opposite face of the flexible circuit board C3 from the formation face of the pad portions.
Incidentally, the female-side engaging member C4 also functions as fixing means adapted to fix portions of the insulating film of the flexible circuit board that are positioned in the vicinities of the female terminal portions D in the flexible circuit board C3, as in the case of the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A.
On the other hand, the male connector C2 comprises a flexible circuit board C5 having the same structure as the circuit board A5 in the connector structure A and male-side engaging members C6 fixedly arranged at four corners of the same face as the connecting pins 9 of the flexible circuit board C5 while a predetermined positional relationship with the connecting pins 9 is maintained.
First, the female-side engaging member C4 in the female connector C1 is the same as the female-side engaging member A4 of the connector structure A in that it is a foil-like body and that it has the second through-holes 6 formed within the face thereof coaxially with the first through-holes of the female terminal portions of the flexible circuit board C3, but different therefrom in that it is not provided with the elastically deformable portions such as the spring arm portions in the female-side engaging member A4 (or the notch ring bodies in the female-side engaging member B4 of the connector structure B) but guide holes 16 are formed at the four corners instead.
On the other hand, the male-side engaging members C6 in the male connector C2 are column-shaped projections 17, and are formed at corresponding formation spots of the guide holes 16 of the female-side engaging member C4 coaxially with the guide holes 16 so as to be inserted thereinto. The column-shaped projections 17 and the guide holes 16 exert a positioning and guiding function in the connector structure C. A layer of adhesive agent 18 is formed on one face of the male connector C2 that is opposite to the female connector C1 except for an area thereof where the connecting pins 9 are arrayed (in
The layer of adhesive agent 18 can be formed by such a method as printing an ultraviolet curable adhesive agent or attaching various adhesive sheets or thermo compression sheets.
Incidentally, the layer of adhesive agent is formed on the male connector C2 in the connector structure shown in
In any case, it is necessary to form the layer of adhesive agent in the entire or a partial area except for the area where the connecting pins are arrayed (when it is formed on the male connector C2) or the entire or a partial area except for the area where the female terminal portions are arrayed (when it is formed on the female connector C1). This is because, if the layer of adhesive agent is formed in the area where the connecting pins are arrayed or the area where the female terminal portions are arrayed, the conduction structure cannot be formed at the assembling time of both the connectors described later.
Therefore, when the column-shaped projections (male-side engaging members) 17 of the male connector C2 are inserted into the guide holes 16 of the female-side engaging member C4, all the connecting pins 9 are collectively inserted into the female terminal portions in a state that they have been positioned to the female terminal portions of the female connector C1 and, when the female connector C1 and the male connector C2 are pressed and insertion of the connecting pins into the female terminal portions is completed as a whole, the conduction structure is formed in a state that the pad portions of the female terminal portions have been brought in pressure contact with the connecting pins of the male terminal portions. At the same time, the layer of adhesive agent 18 serves to bond the female connector C1 and the male connector C2 to each other so that both the connectors are integrated with each other.
That is, since the female connector C1 and the male connector C2 are bonded/fixed to each other via the layer of adhesive agent 18, though the connector structure C is not provided with the elastically deformable portions unlike the connector structures A and B, the connecting portions between the female terminal portions and the male terminal portions are firmly retained. However, the connector structure in this case does not have a repairable structure unlike the connector structures A and B. However, if adhesive agent containing acrylic oligomer and acrylic monomer as main components is used as the adhesive agent, the connector structures C can be retained in a repairable state.
Incidentally, the numbers of guide holes 16 and corresponding column-shaped projections 17 or the spots of formation thereof are not limited to those in the embodiment shown in
The connector structures according to the present invention are largely reinforced in retaining force between the female connector and the male connector as compared with that in the connector structure described in Japanese Patent No. 4059522.
In order to further reinforce the retaining force to further increase the reliability of the connector structure in actual use, for example, the following structure can also be added at the assembling time of the female connector and the male connector.
The structure added to the connector structure A in which the female-side engaging member and the male-side engaging member are both foil-like bodies will be first explained.
In the case of the connector structure A, as shown in
In this structure, as shown in
As shown in
Next, in the case of the connector structure B and the connector structure C, since the male-side engaging members B6 (C6) are, for example, column-shaped projections that are protruded at four corners, such a tab piece as shown in
Therefore, in the case of these connector structures, as shown in
However, in the case of the connector structure B and the connector structure C, as shown in
Therefore, as shown in
As described above, in the case of the connector structures according to the present invention, even if the connecting portion has a multi-pin configuration, a female connector and a male connector can easily be connected to each other at one assembling work by engaging a female-side engaging member fixedly arranged on the female connector that is formed on one face of a flexible circuit board and a male-side engaging member fixedly arranged on the male connector formed on one face of a circuit board that may be a flexible circuit board or a rigid circuit board with each other. At the same time, positioning of both the connectors to each other is easily performed, and the connecting portions are firmly retained, so that the reliability of the connection between both the connectors is increased.
For example, for the purpose of a connection between an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) and an FPC, a connection between an FPC and an RPC (rigid printed circuit board), or the like, the connector structures can be further thinned, reduced in size, and increased in density, as an alternative to an existing board-to-board connector or an EPC connector. Further, a multi-pin connection containing 200 or more pins becomes possible, though it is impossible in the above existing connector. Further, as intended purpose, the connector structure can be used for a connection between a mother board and a panel of a flat panel display, such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or an electronic paper, in a digital electronic apparatus such as a mobile phone, a digital camera, or a digital video camera, a connection between a mother board and an FPC for a camera module, or the like. Also in a medical-equipment related field, the connector structure according to the present invention is thought to be useful for a connection between an FPC mounted with an ultrasonic device and an FPC and an RPC, or a connection between an FPC and an FPC and an RPC in an endoscopic camera module that is required to be microminiaturized.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-128331 | May 2008 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2009/058642 | 5/7/2009 | WO | 00 | 6/6/2011 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2009/139323 | 11/19/2009 | WO | A |
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| 11 329628 | Nov 1999 | JP |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110269321 A1 | Nov 2011 | US |
