The present invention relates to a flat circuit connector for which while a resin molded part formed at an end of a flat circuit body is fitted in a mating connector, the flat circuit body and a terminal in the mating connector are connected.
A flat circuit connector 61 has a first connector (plug connector) 62 and a second connector (receptacle connector) 63. The first connector 62 has a supporting and reinforcing member (also indicated by the number 62) molded by resin at an end of a flat harness 64. A terminal conductor 64a is exposed on a supporting part 62a. The conductor 64a is reinforced by a reinforcing part 62b around the end, and locking projections 65 are provided on the side surfaces of the reinforcing part 62b.
The second connector 63 has a connecting terminal 67 at an upper part inside a connector housing 66 made of resin, has a taper surface 66a at a bottom part which supports a taper surface of the supporting part 62a, and has locking holes at side walls corresponding to the locking projections 65.
Besides the above flat circuit connector, for example, it is disclosed (not shown in the figure) in Patent Document 2 that terminals of flat cables are accommodated in a first and a second connectors, and pressed and fixed respectively by retainers made of resin, and the rear side of the retainers are filled by a resin molded part to be waterproofed. It is disclosed in Patent Document 3 that connecting terminals are connected to electric wires at a terminal of a flat cable, and the connecting part is covered by a resin mold part to be waterproofed. It is disclosed in a patent document 4 that a plurality of connecting terminals are joined by primary molding resin, and a connecting part of the connecting terminals and terminal connectors of a flat cable is covered with secondary molding resin on the primary molding resin to be waterproofed.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2005-93269 (FIGS. 4 and 7)
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2008-176977 (FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 3] JP-A-7-106016 (FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 4] JP-A-6-310224 (FIGS. 1 and 4)
However, in the above traditional flat circuit connector 61 shown in
The present invention is made in view of the above situations, and the object of the present invention is to provide a flat circuit connector which can prevent a wobble of the connectors relative to each other even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body.
The above object of the present invention is accomplished by flat circuit connectors having constructions of following (1) to (5).
(1) A flat circuit connector comprising:
a first connector which is resin molded at an end part of a flat circuit body; and
a second connector, including a terminal configured to connect to a conductor provided in the end part, and configured to be fitted with the first connector, wherein
the first connector includes a block part made of resin and a flange part, the flange part is integrally formed at a rear side in a direction in which the block part is fitted and has a diameter larger than a diameter of the block part,
a projecting wall is provided on a surface of the flange part which is parallel to a main surface of the flat circuit body,
the second connector includes a first peripheral wall with which the block part is fitted, and a second peripheral wall which is integrally formed at the rear side of the first peripheral wall in the direction in which the block part is fitted, and
the second peripheral wall is formed with a cut part in which the projecting wall is fitted.
According to the flat circuit connector which has the configuration in the above (1), the block part of the first connector is fitted in the first peripheral wall of the second connector, the flange part which is formed at the rear side in the direction the block part is fitted is fitted with the inner side of the second peripheral wall which is provided to be connected to the first peripheral wall, and the projecting wall which is provided on the surface of the flange part parallel to the main surface of the flat circuit body is fitted in the cut part of the second peripheral wall. Thereby, a wobble in an up-down or right-left direction of the two connectors is prevented. The up-down direction is the thickness direction of the flat circuit body, and the right-left direction is the width direction of the flat circuit body.
(2) The flat circuit connector according to the (1) above, wherein
the second peripheral wall is provided with a locking part which is flexible in a width direction of the flat circuit body, and
the flange part is provided with a locked part configured to be engaged with the locking part.
According to the flat circuit connector which has the configuration in the above (2), while the locking part of the second peripheral wall is bended outwards to be engaged with the locked part of the flange part, the flange part is fitted in the second peripheral wall without a gap. With the engagement of the locking part and the locked part, the two connectors are locked with each other.
(3) The flat circuit connector according to the (1) or (2) above, wherein
a groove part is provided between the block part and a projecting plate part which is provided forward at a distal end part of the projecting wall at a front side in the direction in which the block part is fitted, and
the first peripheral wall is configured to be fitted in the groove part.
According to the flat circuit connector which has the configuration in the above (3), wall parts of the first peripheral wall are fitted in the groove part, the outer surfaces of the wall parts contact with the inner surface of the projecting plate part, and the inner surface of the wall parts contacts with the outer surface of the block part so that a wobble between the two connectors in the up-down direction is prevented more surely.
(4) The flat circuit connector according to the (1) or (2) above, wherein
an elastic sealing member is provided on an outer periphery of the block part, and
the sealing member adheres to an inner surface of the first peripheral wall.
According to the flat circuit connector which has the configuration in the above (4), the outer peripheral surface of the block part and the inner surface of the first peripheral wall are elastically pressed in the inner-outer direction (the radial direction of the sealing member) by the sealing member so that a wobble between the block part and the first peripheral wall is prevented. The space between the block part and the first peripheral wall is waterproofed by the sealing member so that water can be prevented from leaking into the connectors.
(5) The flat circuit connector according to the (3) above, wherein
an elastic sealing member is provided on an outer periphery of the block part, and
the sealing member adheres to an inner surface of the first peripheral wall.
According to the flat circuit connector which has the configuration in the above (5), the outer peripheral surface of the block part and the inner surface of the first peripheral wall are elastically pressed in the inner-outer direction (the radial direction of the sealing member) by the sealing member so that a wobble between the block part and the first peripheral wall is prevented. The space between the block part and the first peripheral wall is waterproofed by the sealing member so that water can be prevented from leaking into the connectors.
According to the configuration described in the above (1), a wobble of the connectors relative to each other in the up-down or right-left direction can be prevented even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body. Thereby, abrasion of the conductors of the flat circuit body and the terminals of the second connector is prevented and electrical contact can be well maintained.
According to the configuration described in the above (2), since the locking part is bended to be engaged with the locked part, the flange part can be fitted in the second peripheral wall without a gap, and thereby, a wobble of the two connectors particularly in the right-left direction can be prevented surely.
According to the configuration described in the above (3), since the first peripheral wall is fitted in the groove part, a wobble of the two connectors particularly in the up-down direction is prevented more surely, and thereby, the effects of the configuration described in the above (1) can be increased.
For the conventional waterproof sealing configuration shown in
In contrast, according to the configuration described in the above (4), since a wobble of the connectors relative to each other is prevented by the configurations described in the above (1) and (2), unfavorable deformation of the sealing member is prevented and the waterproofness of the connectors can be well maintained. A wobble between the two connectors is prevented by the elasticity of the sealing member itself, and the waterproofness can be further improved.
As a result, a flat circuit connector can be provided so that a wobble of the connectors relative to each other can be prevented even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body and the waterproofness can be well maintained even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body.
According to the configuration described in the above (5), since a wobble of the connectors relative to each other is prevented by the configuration described in the above (3), unfavorable deformation of the sealing member is prevented and the waterproofness of the connectors can be well maintained. A wobble between the two connectors is prevented by the elasticity of the sealing member itself, and the waterproofness can be further improved.
As a result, a flat circuit connector can be provided so that a wobble of the connectors relative to each other can be prevented even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body and the waterproofness can be well maintained even when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body.
As shown in
In this specification, the longitudinal direction of the flat circuit body 2 is a front-rear direction: the side of the end part 2b is a front side and the other end side is a rear side. That is, the direction in which the first connector 3 and the second connector 4 are fitted is the front-rear direction, the direction the first connector 3 is inserted into the second connector 4 is a forward direction, and the direction the first connector 3 is pulled out of the second connector 4 is a rearward direction. The width direction of the flat circuit body 2 is a right-left direction and the thickness direction of the flat circuit body 2 is an up-down direction. However, in the specification, the directions of upward, downward, frontward, rearward, rightward and leftward are used for convenience, and the front-rear direction, for example, may not correspond to the direction the first connector 3 and the second connector 4 are fitted. The “front-rear” of the second connector 4 is based on the “front-rear” of the first connector 3.
The resin molded part 6 of the first connector 3 includes a flat-shaped insulative contact cover 13 which is integrally formed and projected from the front side of the block part 7. The flange part 8 has a pair of long projecting walls (reinforcing parts) 14 which extends in the right-left direction on the top and bottom surfaces parallel to the main board of the flat circuit body 2, and has a pair of locking projections (locked parts) 15 at the right and left side surfaces.
The peripheral wall part 12 of the second connector 4 includes a first peripheral wall 10 which has a generally ellipse shape and is formed continuously at the front side and second peripheral walls 11 which are integrally formed with the distal end side (the rear side) of the first peripheral wall 10 and are fitted with the flange part 8. The outer surfaces of the second peripheral walls 11 follow the same surface as the outer surface of the first peripheral wall 10, inner surfaces of the second peripheral walls 11 are perpendicular to a distal end surface (rear end side surface) 10a of the first peripheral wall 10, and parts 10b of the distal end surface 10a are positioned at the inner sides of the second peripheral walls 11.
The second peripheral walls 11 are formed with a pair of rectangular cut parts 16 to fit with the projecting walls 14 of the first connector 3, and the second peripheral walls 11 are provided as a pair of right and left generally arc shaped thin parts. The cut parts 16 are formed between two right and left end surfaces 11a of the second peripheral walls 11, and are constructed by being surrounded by three parts: the top or bottom distal end surface 10a of the first peripheral wall 10 and the two right and left end surfaces 11a of the second peripheral walls 11. Each of the second peripheral walls 11 has a flexible locking frame (locking part) 17 at the center. Each of the flexible locking frames 17 is separated from the second peripheral wall 11 by top and bottom slits 17a and has a rectangular locking hole 17b at the center to be engaged with the locking projection 15 of the first connector 3.
In this embodiment, the pair of projecting walls 14 are formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the flange part 8 and the second peripheral walls 11 are formed with the pair of cut parts 16 to fit with the pair of projecting walls 14. But it is also possible that, the projecting wall 14 is formed on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces of the flange part 8 and the second peripheral wall 11 is formed with the cut part 16 at a position corresponding to the projecting wall 14 to fit with the projecting wall 14.
The connector fitting room 5 is positioned at the inner side of the first peripheral wall 10, and a plurality of terminal accommodating rooms 18 are opened at a vertical bottom wall 5a of the connector fitting room 5. The cut parts 16 are positioned above and below a rear opening 5b of the connector fitting room 5, and the second peripheral walls 11 are positioned to the right and left of the rear opening 5b. A housing main body part 19 which has a diameter smaller than that of the peripheral wall part 12 is integrally connected with the front side of the peripheral wall part 12. A connector housing 20 made of insulative resin are formed of the peripheral wall part 12 and the housing main body part 19. The housing main body part 19 has a slide fixed part 21 which is fixed to a vehicle panel or the like.
As shown in
The flange part 8 at the rear end is formed to be slightly larger than the block part 7 and thinner in the front-rear direction than the block part 7, and has a vertical front end surface 8a which is perpendicular to the outer peripheral surfaces (curved surfaces 7a, flat surfaces 7b) of the block part 7 and follows the same surfaces as front end surfaces 14a of the top and bottom projecting walls 14. The projecting walls 14 are formed to have the same thickness as that of the second peripheral walls 11 of the second connector 4, and have narrow vertical side surfaces 14b at the right and left sides.
The right and left ends of the flange part 8 has narrow, flat, vertical side surfaces 8b to contact with the inner surfaces of the locking frames 17 of the second connector 4, and the locking projections 15 at the center in the front-rear direction of the side surfaces 8b. The locking projection 15 has an inclined guide surface 15a at the front side and a generally vertical locking surface 15b at the rear side.
As shown in
The conductors 22 may be the inner conductors, or may be separate conductors 22 which are connected to the inner conductors. For example, the contact cover 13 can be omitted when the exposed conductors 22 of the flat circuit body 2 have stiffness, for example, when the conductors 22 are flat, are crimped terminals or the like. The flat circuit body 2 is a collective name of the existing ones such as FPC (flexible print circuit) or FFC (flexible flat cable).
When the two connectors 3′ and 4 are fitted, the rising wall parts 24 are fitted with the cut parts 16 of the second connector 4 in
The block part 7 at the front side is fitted almost without a gap in the connector fitting room 5 at the inner side of the first peripheral wall 10 of the second connector 4, the flange part 8 at the rear side is fitted almost without a gap at the inner side of the second peripheral walls 11 at the rear side, and the top and bottom projecting walls 14 of the flange part 8 are fitted without a gap in the cut parts 16 between the second peripheral walls 11. The front end surface 7c of the block part 7 abuts against the bottom wall 5a of the connector fitting room 5, and the front end surfaces 8a, 14a of the flange part 8 and the projecting walls 14 abut against the distal end surface 10a of the first peripheral wall 10. The top surface and the bottom surface of the top and bottom projecting walls 14 are positioned on the same plane as the top surface and the bottom surface of the first peripheral wall 10. The rear surfaces of the projecting walls 14 and the rear surface of the flange part 8 are positioned on the same plane as the distal end surfaces (the rear end side surfaces) of the second peripheral walls 11.
There is no wobble between the block part 7 and the flange part 8 as the fitted part (fixed part) 9 and the second connector 4. The projecting walls (the reinforcing parts) 14 are used to prevent an external force received by the flat circuit body 2 or the fitted part 9 from the outside from being transmitted to the contacts of terminals 22, 27 of the two connectors 3, 4.
The locking frames 17 of the second connector 4 in
Even when an external force is applied in the up-down direction, in other words, the thickness direction of the flat circuit body 2, since the right and left semicircular outer surface parts 8c of the flange part 8 abut against the inner peripheral surfaces of the second peripheral walls 11, the external force is blocked. Moreover, the front end surfaces 14a of the projecting walls 14 and the front end surface 8a of the flange part 8 abut against the distal end surface 10a of the first peripheral wall 10 by a large area. Thereby, a wobble in the up-down direction is prevented.
When an external force in the right-left direction is applied, since the right and left side end surfaces 14b (refer to
As shown in
A plurality of the terminals 27 are arranged to correspond respectively to the conductors 22 of the flat circuit body 2, and the elastic contact parts 27a of the terminals 27 elastically contact with the exposed conductors 22. It is also possible to replace the electrical contact parts 27b on the other side with electric wire connecting parts (not shown in the figure), and crimp and connect electric wires (not shown in the figure) to the electric wire connecting parts, and in this case, the connector fitting rooms 28 on the other side are replaced with a wire drawout hole.
The rising wall parts 24 of the projecting walls 23 which are formed into generally L shapes as top and bottom reinforcing parts of the first connector 3′ are fitted into the top and bottom cut parts 16 of the housing 20 of the second connector 4. Thereby, the front end surfaces 24a of the rising wall parts 24 abut against the distal end surface 10a of the first peripheral wall 10 of the housing 20, the projecting plate parts 25 of the projecting walls 23 are overlapped on the outside of the top and bottom wall parts 10c of the first peripheral wall 10, and the inner surfaces 25a of the projecting plate parts 25 contact with the outer surface 10c′ of the first peripheral wall 10.
The block part 7 of the first connector 3′ is fitted in the connector fitting room 5 inside the first peripheral wall 10 of the second connector 4, and the top and bottom wall parts 10c of the first peripheral wall 10 are fitted in the groove parts 26 between the top and bottom outer surfaces 10c′ of the block part 7 and the inner surfaces 25a of the projecting plate parts 25. Since the top and bottom wall parts 10c of the first peripheral wall 10 are held in the groove parts 26, compared with the example in
A flat circuit connector 31 is characterized in that an elastic sealing member 32 made of synthetic rubber such as an 0 ring and a cyclic packing is installed onto the block part 7 of a first connector 33. Since the other components are the same as those of the connector 1 of the first embodiment, the detailed description is omitted by giving the same numbers to the same components. The sealing member 32 is not limited to be installed onto the block part 7, but may be fixed integrally to the block part 7 made by synthetic resin, for example, by two color molding.
As shown in
A block front part, which has a large front end taper surface 7d for the insertion of the sealing member and a narrow cyclic outer surface 7e which is connected to the taper surface 7d, is positioned at the front side of the peripheral groove 34, and a block rear part which has a flat cyclic outer surface 7f is positioned at the rear side of the peripheral groove 34. The cyclic outer surfaces 7e, 7f are equivalent to the outer peripheral surfaces (the curved surfaces 7a, the flat surfaces 7b) in the example in
The second connector 4 is similar to the first embodiment in
As shown in
As shown in
The block part 7 is fitted in the connector fitting room 5, the front end surface 7c of the block part 7 abuts against the bottom wall 5a of the connector fitting room 5, and the front end surface 8a of the flange part 8 and the front end surfaces 14a of the projecting walls 14 abut against the distal end surface 10a of the first peripheral wall 10 on the same plane. Since the projecting walls 14 of the fitted part 9 of the first connector 33 is fitted in the cut parts 16 of the second connector 4 and the flange part 8 is fitted in the second peripheral walls 11, a wobble of the fitted part 9 and the housing 20 of the second connector 4 is prevented. Thereby, unfavorable deformation of the sealing member 32 is prevented, and the sealing performance of the sealing member 32 is well maintained. The terminals 27 in the terminal accommodating room 18 which communicates with the connector fitting room 5 elastically contact with the exposed conductors 22 of the flat circuit body 2.
In each of the previously described embodiments, the terminals 27 are provided at the second connector 4, but it is also possible that the flat circuit body (2) is provided in the first connector 3 to replace the terminals 27, and terminals (not shown in the figure) which has elastic contact parts 27a are provided to be connected to the terminal connectors (22) of the flat circuit body (2).
Although the invention is described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments, it is apparent that various modifications and amendments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The flat circuit connector according to the present invention can prevent a wobble of the connectors relative to each other when an external force is applied on the flat circuit body.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-039686 | Feb 2011 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT application No. PCT/JP2012/053565, which was filed on Feb. 15, 2012 based on Japanese Patent Application (No. 2011-039686) filed on Feb. 25, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2012/053565 | Feb 2012 | US |
Child | 13967831 | US |