Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6383017
-
Patent Number
6,383,017
-
Date Filed
Monday, April 16, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 7, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 495
- 439 260
- 439 67
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A flexible board electrical connector includes first and second terminals (10, 20) each having an upper arm (11, 21) and a pressure member (30) supported by the upper arms (11, 21) at first and second bearing sections (31A, 32A) for rotation. When the pressure member (30) is turned to the closed position, the first and second bearing sections (31A, 32A) are brought into contact with the lower and upper edges of the upper arms (11, 21).
Description
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 invention there is provided a flexible board electrical connector which comprises a pressure member having at least one bearing section that engages lower edge of the upper arm for rotation to flex upwardly the upper arm, making a distance between the upper and lower arms largest at the open position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS.
1
(A)-
1
through
1
(A)-
3
are sectional views taken along the first terminal of a connector according to the first embodiment of the invention;
FIGS.
1
(B)-
1
through
1
(B)-
3
are sectional views taken along the second terminal of the connector;
FIGS.
2
(A)-
1
through
2
(A)-
3
are sectional views taken along the first terminal of a connector according to the second embodiment of the invention;
FIGS.
2
(B)-
1
through
2
(B)-
3
are sectional views taken along the second terminal of the connector according to the second embodiment;
FIGS.
3
(A)-
1
through
3
(A)-
3
are sectional views taken along the first terminal of a connector according to the third embodiment of the invention;
FIGS.
3
(B)-
1
through
3
(B)-
3
are sectional views taken along the second terminal of the connector according to the third embodiment;
FIGS.
4
(A)-
1
through
4
(A)-
3
are sectional views taken along the first terminal of a connector according to the fourth embodiment of the invention;
FIGS.
4
(B)-
1
through
4
(B)-
3
are sectional views taken along the second terminal of the connector according to the fourth embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 5
is a sectional view of a conventional connector.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 1-4
.
In FIGS.
1
(A)-
1
through
1
(B)-
3
, a connector according to the first embodiment of the invention has first and second terminals
10
and
20
. The connector comprises a housing
1
that is made of an insulative material so as to extend in the first direction perpendicular to the picture plane. The housing
1
has first and second receiving slots
2
and
3
for receiving the first and second terminals
10
and
20
. The first and second receiving slots
2
and
3
extend in respective planes parallel to the picture plane and are spaced alternately in the first direction. They have engaging walls
2
A and
3
A, respectively, for locking the first and second terminals
10
and
20
therein. They communicate with each other at the upper left corners to form an open mouth
4
. The first and second terminal
10
or
20
is made by stamping a metal sheet so as to provide an upper arm
11
or
21
, a lower arm
12
or
22
, and a linking section
13
or
23
for joining them together.
As best shown in FIG.
1
(A)-
1
, the first terminal
10
is inserted into the first receiving slot
2
from the right such that a projection
12
A of the lower arm
12
engages the engaging wall
2
A to lock the first terminal
10
. A connection leg
14
extends downwardly from the linking section
13
. The upper arm
11
is vertically flexible, and a guiding finger
11
A is provided in the open mouth
4
and has a circular tip for guiding a pressure member
30
. A contact section
12
B is provided on the upper front edge of the lower arm
12
in front of the guiding finger
11
A.
As best shown in FIG.
1
(B)-
1
, the second terminal
20
is inserted in the second receiving slot
3
from the left. An engaging section
24
extends from the bottom of the linking section
23
such that the head portion engages the engaging wall
3
A to lock the second terminal
20
. A space
25
is provided between the linking section
23
and the bottom of the housing
1
.
The upper arm
21
extends forwardly and then upwardly to form an inclined section
21
A. Similarly to the upper arm
11
, it is vertically flexible. Since there is the space
25
and the engaging section
24
engages the engaging wall
3
A with a little play, it is flexible in a wide range reaching the lower arm
22
. A contact section
22
A is provided on upper edge of the lower arm
22
behind the inclined section
21
A and spaced from the contact section
12
B of the first terminal
10
. It is opposed to a curved section
21
B of the upper arm
21
to form a narrow space between the upper and lower arms
21
and
22
. A recess
27
at the left portion of the lower arm
22
engages the housing
1
to lock the second terminal
20
and forms a connection leg
26
.
The pressure member
30
is provided at the open mouth
4
where the first and second terminals
20
and
30
are provided alternately. Similarly to the housing
1
, it is made of an insulative material and supported by the guiding fingers
11
A and the inclined section
21
A of the upper arms
11
and
21
, respectively, for rotation. It has first and second slots
31
and
32
at positions corresponding to the first and second terminals
10
and
20
. The first slot
31
for the first terminal
10
has a U-shaped form to provide a first bearing section
31
A that is supported by the guiding finger
11
A for rotation. The second slot
32
for the second terminal
30
has a second bearing section
32
A that has a cylindrical form and is in contact with the inclined section
21
A of the upper arm
21
.
Thus, the first and second bearing sections
32
A and
32
A of the pressure member
30
are in contact with the lower edge of the guiding finger
11
A and the upper edge of the inclined section
21
A of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
, respectively, for rotation. The pressure member
30
has a pressure edge
33
at such a position that the distance between the pressure edge
33
and the center of rotation is greater than the distance between the center of rotation and the contact face that is in contact with a flexible board.
How to use the connector will be described below.
(1) The connector is placed on a circuit board (not shown) and the connection legs
14
and
26
of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
are soldered to the corresponding circuit traces.
(2) Then, the pressure member
30
is brought into the open position (FIGS.
1
(A)-
1
and
1
(B)-
1
).
(3) Then, a flexible board P is inserted into the open mouth
4
such that the connection traces on the lower face of the flexible board P are brought to positions above the contact sections
12
B and
22
A of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
, respectively.
(4) Then, as shown in FIGS.
1
(A)-
2
and
1
(B)-
2
, the pressure member
30
is turned counterclockwise with the first and second bearing sections
31
A and
32
A in contact with the guiding finger
11
A and the inclined section
21
A of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
, respectively. That is, the pressure member
30
is supported and guided between the lower and upper edges of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
, respectively, for rotation. Where the guiding finger
11
A and the inclined section
21
A receive pressures from the first and second bearing sections
31
A and
32
A, the upper arms
11
and
21
are flexed so that the center of rotation moves. When the pressure member
30
presses down the flexible board P at the pressure section
33
against the contact section
12
B, it receives a reactive force at the first bearing section
31
A from the guiding finger
11
A of the first terminal
10
, tending to lower the center of rotation. This tends to press down the upper arm
21
of the second terminals
20
by the second bearing section
32
A at the inclined section
21
A. Consequently, the upper arm
21
presses down the flexible board P against the contact section
22
A at the curved section
21
B with a high contact pressure.
(5) Under these conditions, the pressure member
30
is further turned into the closed position (FIGS.
1
(A)-
3
and
1
(B)-
3
), where the flexible board P is kept in contact with the contact sections
12
B and
22
A of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
under satisfactory contact pressures.
Since it is held between the upper arms
11
and
21
of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
, the pressure member
30
does not fall from the housing
1
even if it is made thin and flexible. Consequently, the connector is made thin or of low-profile.
In FIGS.
2
(A)-
1
through
2
(B)-
3
, according to the second embodiment, prevention of the pressure member
30
from falling from the housing
1
is improved. The first bearing section
34
of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment. The second bearing section
35
looks different from that of the first embodiment but is not substantially different from the first embodiment in terms of functions.
In FIG.
2
(A)-
1
, the first bearing section
34
has an inclined portion
34
A such that when the pressure member
30
is at the closed position (FIG.
2
(A)-
3
), the inclined portion
34
A is brought into contact with the finger portion
11
A at a contact point
36
, with the shortest distance between the center of rotation and the contact point
36
. Thus, even if an external force is applied to the pressure member
30
, a recovering torque keeps the pressure member
30
in the stable closed condition, preventing the pressure member
30
from rotating toward the open position and falling from the housing.
In FIGS.
3
(A)-
1
through
3
(B)-
3
, this third embodiment is characterized in that when the pressure member
30
is at the open position, the flexible board can be inserted or removed with a low resistance; that is, a low- or zero-insertion/removal force.
In FIG.
3
(A)-
1
, the first bearing section
34
and the upper arm
11
of a first terminal
10
are the same as those of FIG.
2
(A)-
1
. The second bearing section
32
A is the same as that of FIG.
1
(B)-
1
except that the upper arm
20
has a curved engaging section
27
at the front end. The pressure member
30
has a pair of cam sections
37
at opposite ends between which there are neither first nor second bearing sections
34
and
32
A. The cam sections
37
are supported by support faces
1
A of the housing
1
and have a cam radius (between the center of rotation and the cam face) that is the largest at the open position (FIGS.
3
(A)-
1
and
3
(B)-
1
) and the smallest at the closed position (FIGS.
3
(A)-
3
and
3
(B)-
3
). Consequently, when the pressure member
30
is at the open position, the upper arms
11
and
21
of the first and second terminals
10
and
20
are flexed upwardly by the first and second bearing sections
34
and
32
A and moved away from the lower arms
12
and
22
so that low- or zero-force insertion/removal is realized. When the pressure member
30
is brought to the closed position through the conditions of FIGS.
3
(A)-
2
and
3
(B)-
2
, the cam radius becomes the smallest so that the recovery forces of the upper arms
11
and
21
bring the flexible board into contact with the contact sections
12
B and
22
A under a predetermined pressure. That is, even if the pressure member
30
is made thin, it is possible to secure the contact pressure upon the contact sections
12
B and
22
A that are spaced from the pressure member
30
.
In FIGS.
4
(A)-
1
through
4
(B)-
3
, the fourth embodiment is characterized in that only a single type of terminals are used in contrast to the two types of terminals used in the above embodiments.
The pressure member
30
has two sorts of bearing sections. One of the bearing sections is the same as the second bearing section
35
of FIG.
2
(B)-
1
. As best shown in FIG.
4
(B)-
1
, the second bearing section
35
extends toward the right from the left side wall of the pressure member
30
at the open position. As best shown in FIG.
4
(A)-
1
, the other or first bearing section
38
extends toward the left from the right side wall of the pressure member
30
at the open position. The pressure member
30
is supported from above at the first bearing section
38
and from below at the second bearing section
35
, producing the same effects as in the first embodiment.
In the above embodiments, the circuit board is provided in the horizontal direction but, where the circuit board is provided in the vertical direction, the vertical direction in the above embodiments becomes the horizontal direction. The connection circuits may be provided on opposite faces of a flexible board, and the curved sections
21
B of FIG.
1
(B)-
1
may be made contact section
21
′.
As has been described above, according to the invention, the bearing section of the pressure member is supported between the upper arms of the first and second terminals at the closed position so that it is possible to prevent separation of the thin pressure member by reactive forces of the terminals, making a low-profile connector possible. Where the first terminal causes the pressure member to press the flexible board against the second terminal, it is possible to press the flexible board against both of the spaced-apart contact sections without increasing the thickness of the pressure member.
Claims
- 1. A flexible board electrical connector comprising:a housing having an open mouth; at least one first terminal provided in said housing and having a first upper arm and a first lower arm with an upwardly extending first contact section; at least one second terminal provided in said 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 said first and second upper arms, respectively, for rotation between an open position where a flexible board is inserted through said open mouth such that a circuit face of said flexible board is placed on said first and second contact sections and a closed position where said flexible board is pressed against said first and second contact sections.
- 2. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein said first and second contact sections of said first and second terminals are spaced apart in a flexible board insertion/removal direction.
- 3. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein a distance between a center of rotation and a contact point between said pressure member and said flexible board becomes smallest at said closed position of said pressure member.
- 4. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein when said pressure member is turned to said open position, at least one of said first and second bearing sections flexes upwardly said first and second upper arms of said first and second terminals to thereby increase a distance between said upper and lower arms.
- 5. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein said first upper arm of said first terminal is flexible so that it is flexed upwardly by said first bearing section when said pressure member is turned from said open position to said closed position while said pressure member is moved downwardly by a reactive force of said first upper arm.
- 6. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein said upper arm of said second terminal is flexible so that when said pressure member is moved downwardly, it is flexed downwardly by said second bearing section to thereby press down said flexible board.
- 7. The flexible board electrical connector according to claim 6, wherein said upper and lower arms of said second terminal are joined together by a linking section from which an engaging projection extends and engages an engaging hole of said housing with a play so that a part of said lower arm is flexed when said upper arm is flexed.
- 8. A flexible board electrical connector comprising:a housing having an open mouth; at least one first terminal provided in said housing and having a first upper arm and a first lower arm with an upwardly extending first contact section; at least one second terminal provided in said 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 engages lower and upper edges of said first and second upper arms, respectively, for rotation between an open position where a flexible board is inserted into said housing through said open mouth and a closed position where said flexible board is pressed against said first and second contact sections by said pressure member, wherein said upper and lower arms of said second terminal are joined together by a linking section from which an engaging projection extends and engages an engaging hole of said housing with a play so that a part of said lower arm is flexed when said upper arm is flexed.
- 9. A flexible board electrical connector comprising:a housing having an open mouth; a plurality of terminals provided in said housing and each having an upper arm extending forwardly into said open mouth and a lower arm extending forwardly, at least one contact section provided on either said upper or lower arm; a pressure member having first and second bearing sections that engages lower and upper edges of said upper arms, respectively, for rotation between an open position where a flexible board is inserted into said housing through said open mouth such that a circuit face of said flexible board faces said contact sections and a closed position where said flexible board is pressed against said contact sections by said pressure member.
- 10. A flexible board electrical connector comprising:a housing having an open mouth; a plurality of terminals provided in said housing and each having an upper arm and a lower arm; at least one contact section provided on either said upper or lower arm; a pressure member having at least one bearing section that engages a lower edge of one of said upper arms for rotation between an open position where a flexible board is inserted into said housing through said open mouth and a closed position where said flexible board is pressed against said contact section; and a pair of cam sections provided on opposite sides of said pressure member to flex upwardly said upper arms with respect to said housing, making a distance between said upper and lower arms largest at said open position.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-114985 |
Apr 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5785549 |
Takayasu |
Jul 1998 |
A |
5839917 |
Takahashi et al. |
Nov 1998 |
A |
5842883 |
Igarashi et al. |
Dec 1998 |
A |
6206723 |
Kunishi |
Mar 2001 |
B1 |
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
9-283235 |
Oct 1997 |
JP |