JP7601486B2 - Electrical Connectors - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an electrical connector to which a flexible flat cable such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) is connected.

An electrical connector to be connected to a flexible flat cable such as an FPC or FFC is mounted on a printed wiring board, for example. A plurality of contacts are provided in the housing of the electrical connector to be electrically connected to the printed wiring board. The flat cable is electrically connected to the printed wiring board by electrically connecting these contacts to the conductors of the flat cable.
In this electrical connector, to maintain the electrical connection between the contacts and the conductors of the flat cable, the flat cable is clamped between the contacts and the elasticity of the contacts themselves is utilized to press the contacts against the conductors of the flat cable, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

Patent No. 5391104

If the thickness of the flat cable that an electrical connector accepts is constant, an appropriate contact pressure can be obtained by setting the contact pressure of the contact according to the thickness of the flat cable. However, the tolerance of the thickness of flat cables accepted by electrical connectors of the same specifications can be large. Therefore, if the contact pressure is set based on the thickness at the lower limit of the tolerance, the contact pressure of a flat cable with a thickness at the upper limit of the tolerance may be too high. Conversely, if the contact pressure is set based on a flat cable with a thickness at the upper limit of the tolerance within the accepted range, the contact pressure of a flat cable with a thickness at the lower limit of the tolerance may be too low. In this way, differences in contact pressure cause unstable electrical or mechanical contact performance between the contact and flat cable.

Based on the above, the present disclosure aims to provide an electrical connector that can make contact with contacts with stable contact performance even when using flat cables of different thicknesses.

The electrical connector of the present disclosure comprises a housing made of an electrically insulating material that receives a flat cable, and a plurality of contacts arranged along the width direction of the housing and made of a conductive material that are electrically connected to the flat cable of the flat cable.
The contact of the present disclosure comprises a first beam arranged opposite the flat cable, a second beam arranged at a distance from the first beam, and an electrical contact arranged on the first beam and pressed against the flat cable of the flat cable.
The contact in the present disclosure comprises a first contact portion and a second contact portion connected to the first contact portion and having a larger area of contact with the flat cable than the first contact portion, and either or both of at least a portion of the first contact portion and at least a portion of the second contact portion are pressed against the flat cable.

In the electrical connector of the present disclosure, preferably, the first contact portion is pressed against the flat cable before the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.

In the electrical connector of the present disclosure, preferably, the first beam is elastically deformed to press the first contact portion against the flat cable, and then the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.

In the electrical connector of the present disclosure, preferably, when a relatively thin flat cable is received, the first contact portion is pressed against the flat cable. Also, in the electrical connector of the present disclosure, preferably, when a relatively thick flat cable is received, the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.

The electrical connector of the present disclosure preferably includes an actuator having a cam that switches between a pressed state in which the contacts are pressed against the flat cable and an open state in which the contacts are separated from the flat cable.
The cam is disposed between the first beam and the second beam.

In the electrical connector of the present disclosure, the first beam preferably has a smaller rigidity in the direction Z in which it receives the load from the cam than the second beam.

The contact of the electrical connector of the present disclosure preferably includes a base supporting the first beam and the second beam, a first support piece connecting the base and the first beam and supporting the first beam in a cantilever manner, and a second support piece connecting the base and the second beam and supporting the second beam in a cantilever manner. The first support piece preferably has a smaller rigidity in a direction X intersecting the load receiving direction Z than the rigidity of the second support piece in the intersecting direction X.

According to the electrical connector of the present disclosure, the contact area can be enlarged when a large contact load is applied to the flat cable, and the contact area can be reduced when a small contact load is applied to the flat cable. As a result, according to the electrical connector of the present disclosure, stable contact performance can be obtained between the contact and the flat cable even when flat cables of different thicknesses are received.

1A and 1B are perspective views showing an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which (a) shows a housing with contacts attached, (b) shows an actuator attached to (a), and (c) shows a peg attached to (b). 1A shows a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector in FIG. 1A, where (a) is a cross-sectional view of a portion including a front contact, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of a portion including a rear contact. 1B, in which (a) is a cross-sectional view of a portion including a front contact, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of a portion including a rear contact. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1( c ), showing a portion including a peg. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing a state before operation of the actuator of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 begins, in which (a) shows a portion including a front contact, (b) shows a portion including a rear contact, and (c) shows a portion including a peg. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing a state of the actuator during operation, where (a) shows a portion including the front contact, (b) shows a portion including the rear contact, and (c) shows a portion including the peg. 7A to 7C are cross-sectional views showing the actuator in a state where operation is completed, following FIG. 6, in which (a) shows a portion including the front contact, (b) shows a portion including the rear contact, and (c) shows a portion including the peg. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing how the rear contact comes into contact with the flat cable when the actuator is operated by receiving the thin flat cable. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing how the rear contact comes into contact with the flat cable when the actuator is operated by receiving a thick flat cable.

Hereinafter, an electrical connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying FIGS.
The electrical connector 10 is mounted on a printed wiring board (not shown) having a conductive pattern and a ground pattern. The electrical connector 10 electrically connects the flat cable 300 and the printed wiring board by inserting an end of the flexible flat cable 300 into the electrical connector 10. Even if there is a certain degree of difference in thickness of the flat cable 300 to be inserted, the electrical connector 10 can increase the contact area when a large contact load is applied to the flat cable, and can decrease the contact area when a small contact load is applied to the flat cable. This makes it possible to obtain stable contact performance with the flat cable 300.
As shown in Fig. 1 and other figures, the electrical connector 10 is defined as having a front-rear direction X, a width direction Y, and a height direction Z. With respect to the front-rear direction X, the side into which the flat cable 300 is inserted is defined as the front, and the opposite side is defined as the rear. With respect to the height direction Z, the lower side in the state shown in Fig. 1 is defined as the lower side (L), and the opposite side is defined as the upper side (H). These terms front-rear and up-down have relative meanings.

[Structure of the electrical connector 10: FIGS. 1 and 2]
1 and 2, the electrical connector 10 includes a housing 11, a plurality of contacts 20 accommodated in a cavity 12 (see FIG. 5) of the housing 11, and an actuator 15 for manipulating these contacts 20. In the electrical connector 10, a flat cable 300 is inserted from the front of the housing 11 toward the cavity 12.

[Housing 11: Figs. 1 and 2]
The housing 11 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin. In the housing 11, a plurality of contacts 20 for making an electrical connection with each conductor at the end of the flat cable 300 are arranged in a row along the width direction Y. Each contact 20 is held in the housing 11.

[Actuator 15: Figures 1 and 3]
The actuator 15 is made of an electrically insulating material such as resin, and is provided in the housing 11. Both ends 15B, 15B of the actuator 15 in the width direction Y are supported by the housing 11 so that the actuator 15 can rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the width direction Y of the housing 11. Note that being rotatable means that the actuator 15 can rotate forward and backward.

As shown in Fig. 1, the actuator 15 has a camshaft 15A extending along its rotation axis. As shown in Fig. 3, a front cam 17F and a rear cam 17R are formed on the camshaft 15A at positions corresponding to the front contact 20F and the rear contact 20R, respectively, in each contact 20. The front cam 17F is provided between the first beam 23F and the second beam 25F of the front contact 20F. The rear cam 17R is provided between the first beam 23R and the second beam 25R of the rear contact 20R. The front cam 17F and the rear cam 17R are fixed to a common camshaft 15A.
4, the actuator 15 is provided with an actuator camshaft 18. The actuator camshaft 18 is integral with the front cam 17F and the rear cam 17R and extends in the width direction Y.

As shown in Figures 5(a) to 5(c), when the lever 16 of the actuator 15 is in an upright position relative to the housing 11, the front contact 20F and the rear contact 20R are in an open position, allowing the flat cable 300 to be inserted into the housing 11. When the actuator 15 is rotated from the upright position to a lying position in which it is tilted forward as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the front cam 17F and the rear cam 17R tilt accordingly, and the front contact 20F and the rear contact 20R enter a pressing state in which they press the flat cable 300. In this way, by operating the actuator 15, it is possible to switch between an open state in which the contacts 20 do not press the flat cable 300, and a pressing state in which the contacts 20 press the flat cable 300.

[Contact 20: Figures 2 and 3]
The contact 20 is formed by stamping a thin plate made of a conductive material such as a copper alloy, etc. The surface of the contact 20 is plated with gold, tin, etc.
The contacts 20 include front contacts 20F that are inserted from the front into the cavity 12 of the housing 11 shown in Figures 1 and 2, and rear contacts 20R that are inserted from the rear into the cavity 12 of the housing 11 shown in Figures 1 and 2. A plurality of each of the front contacts 20F and rear contacts 20R are alternately arranged along the width direction of the housing 11. Both the front contacts 20F and the rear contacts 20R are contacts for signal transmission.

[Front contact 20F: Figures 1, 2, and 3]
1 and 2(a), the front contact 20F includes a first base 21F extending from the front end to the rear end of the housing 11 when attached to the housing 11, a first beam 23F, and a second beam 25F. The front contact 20F includes a first support piece 27F connecting the first base 21F and the first beam 23F, and a second support piece 29F connecting the first base 21F and the second beam 25F.

The first base 21F has a stopper claw 211F at its front end, which is engaged with the front end of the housing 11. The stopper claw 211F is engaged with the front end of the housing 11, thereby restricting the rearward and upward movement of the front contact 20F. Furthermore, a tine 213F is formed on the first base 21F forward of the stopper claw 211F, which is electrically connected to a conductive pattern (not shown) of the printed wiring board.

The first beam 23F is disposed generally parallel to the first base 21F with a predetermined distance therebetween. The first beam 23F is disposed between the first base 21F and the second beam 25F. The first beam 23F has a contact 231F facing downward, midway between its front end and the first support piece 27F, which is in electrical contact with the flat cable 300. The rear end of the first beam 23F is supported in a cantilever fashion by the first support piece 27F.

The second beam 25F is disposed at a predetermined distance from the first beam 23F and generally parallel to the first base 21F. The second beam 25F has a downwardly extending locking protrusion 251F at its front end to which the front cam 17F is locked.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the cam 17 is disposed between the first beam 23F and the second beam 25F. The second beam 25F has a larger width (dimension in the height direction Z) especially toward the side closer to the second support piece 29F than the first beam 23F, and has a larger rigidity in the direction in which the load is received (height direction Z) than the first beam 23F. "Rigidity" refers to the degree of difficulty in dimensional change (deformation) against bending or twisting forces. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, rigidity does not necessarily have to be measured by a measuring instrument, and may be determined, for example, by dimensions. For example, even if the members are made of the same metal material, that is, materials with the same mechanical strength (tensile strength), the rigidity of a member with a large wall thickness is large. In this case, the rigidity in the present disclosure can be compared in terms of, for example, the moment of inertia of area. In the figure, the height direction Z corresponds to the direction in which the load is received by the front cam 17F. This is to minimize the bending of the second beam 25F when the first beam 23F is bent downward using the front cam 17F. For the same reason, the width (front-rear direction X) of the second support piece 29F supporting the second beam 25F is larger than that of the first support piece 27F supporting the first beam 23F.

A retaining protrusion 291F that engages with the retaining protrusion 13F of the housing 11 is formed on the upper end of the second support piece 29F. The retaining protrusion 291F engages with the retaining protrusion 13F of the housing 11, thereby preventing the front contact 20F from falling out of the housing 11.

[Rear contact 20R: Figures 2 and 3]
2(b), the rear contact 20R includes a rear base 21R extending from the rear end to the front end of the housing 11 when attached to the housing 11, a first beam 23R, and a second beam 25R. The rear contact 20R includes a first support piece 27R connecting the rear base 21R and the first beam 23R, and a second support piece 29R connecting the rear base 21R and the second beam 25R.

The rear base 21R has a stopper claw 211R at its rear end, which is engaged with the rear end of the housing 11. The stopper claw 211R is engaged with the rear end of the housing 11, thereby restricting the rear contact 20R from moving forward and upward. Furthermore, a tine 213R is formed on the rear end side of the rear base 21R beyond the stopper claw 211R, which is electrically connected to a conductive pattern (not shown) of a printed wiring board.

The first beam 23R is disposed generally parallel to the rear base 21R at a predetermined distance from the rear base 21R. The first beam 23R is disposed between the rear base 21R and the second beam 25R. The first beam 23R has a contact 231R facing downward at its front end, which is in electrical contact with the flat cable 300. The first beam 23R has a rear end supported in a cantilever manner by the first support piece 27R.

The second beam 25R is disposed at a predetermined distance from the first beam 23R and generally parallel to the rear base 21R. The second beam 25R has a downwardly extending locking projection 251R at its front end to which the rear cam 17R is locked. The rear end of the second beam 25R is supported in a cantilever fashion by the second support piece 29R.

As shown in FIG. 3(b), the rear cam 17R is disposed between the first beam 23R and the second beam 25R. The second beam 25R has a larger width (dimension in the height direction Z) than the first beam 23R, especially toward the side closer to the second support piece 29R, and has a higher rigidity in the height direction Z than the first beam 23R. This is to minimize the bending of the second beam 25R when the first beam 23R is bent downward using the rear cam 17R. For the same reason, the width (front-rear direction X) of the second support piece 29R supporting the second beam 25R is larger than that of the first support piece 27R supporting the first beam 23R.

A retaining protrusion 291R that engages with the retaining protrusion 13R of the housing 11 is formed on the upper end of the second support piece 29R. The retaining protrusion 291R engages with the retaining protrusion 13R of the housing 11, thereby preventing the rear contact 20R from falling out of the housing 11.

[Peg 40: Fig. 1, Fig. 4]
The pegs 40 are provided on both ends of the housing 11 in the width direction Y, and are used to fix the electrical connector 10 to a printed wiring board (not shown).
The peg 40 is made of a conductive material such as metal, and is soldered to a ground pattern formed on the surface of the printed wiring board for electrical connection. The peg 40 has a beam 41 extending rearward from its front end, and the beam 41 is press-fitted into the press-fit hole 14 of the housing 11 to fix the housing 11 and the printed wiring board together.

[Pressing of the contact 20 onto the flat cable 300: Figs. 5, 6 and 7]
Next, the procedure for pressing the contacts 20 against the inserted flat cable 300 by operating the actuator 15 will be described. This procedure includes the process of inserting the flat cable 300 into the housing 11 (FIG. 5), the process of operating the actuator 15 (FIG. 6), and the process of completing the pressing (FIG. 7). The following description will be given in this order. Note that the procedure for pressing the contacts 20 against the flat cable 300 regardless of the thickness will be described using FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, and pressing according to the thickness will be described later.

[Inserting the flat cable 300 into the housing 11: FIG. 5]
Prior to the insertion of the flat cable 300 into the housing 11, the actuator 15 is set in an upright state along the height direction Z, as shown in Figures 5(a), (b), and (c). When the actuator 15 is in an upright state, the front cam 17F and the rear cam 17R, which are driven by the actuator 15, are set in a flat state along the front-rear direction X, as shown in Figures 5(a) and (b).

As shown in FIG. 5(a), for the front contact 20F, the flat cable 300 is inserted between the first base 21F and the first beam 23F, close to the first support piece 27F at the back of the cavity 12 (FIG. 3(a)). At this point, the contact 231F is away from the flat cable 300. Also, at this point, the front cam 17F is between the first beam 23F and the second beam 25F, and is in contact with the upper surface of the first beam 23F and the lower surface of the second beam 25F.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), for the rear contact 20R, the flat cable 300 is inserted between the rear base 21R and the first beam 23R, close to the first support piece 27R at the back of the cavity 12 (FIG. 3(b)). At this point, the contact 231R is away from the flat cable 300. Also, at this point, the rear cam 17R is between the first beam 23R and the second beam 25R, and is in contact with the upper surface of the first beam 23R and the lower surface of the second beam 25R.

When the beam 41 of the peg 40 is pressed into the press-fit hole 14 of the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 5(c), a part of the peg 40 comes into contact with the actuator camshaft 18. This restricts the movement of the actuator camshaft 18 in the forward/rearward direction X, and stabilizes the position of the actuator camshaft 18 while the actuator 15 is rotating. It also prevents the actuator 15 from coming off the housing 11. This applies not only when the actuator 15 is stopped (FIG. 5), but also when it is rotating (FIGS. 6 and 7).

[Operation process of actuator 15: FIG. 6]
In order to press the flat cable 300, which has been inserted to a predetermined position as described above, with the front contact 20F and the rear contact 20R, the actuator 15 in the upright state is tilted.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the actuator 15 of the front contact 20F is tilted, the front cam 17F, which was in a flat state until then, tilts in response to the tilt. Then, the opposing pressing angle Af1 presses the upper surface of the first beam 23F downward, and the opposing pressing angle Af2 presses the lower surface of the second beam 25F upward. Here, as described above, the first beam 23F has a smaller rigidity in the height direction Z than the second beam 25F. Therefore, even if the pressing angle Af1 presses the first beam 23F downward and the pressing angle Af2 presses the second beam 25F upward, the second beam 25F hardly bends upward, and the first beam 23F bends downward. As the first beam 23F bends downward, the contact 231F comes into contact with the flat cable 300.
Here, it is preferable that the contact pressure of the contact 231F against the flat cable 300 reaches a peak at the stage of Fig. 6(a) while the actuator 15 is on its way to the operation completion position shown in Fig. 7(a). This is to give the person operating the actuator 15 a clicking sensation during the rotational movement of the actuator 15.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the actuator 15 is tilted, the rear cam 17R, which was in a flat state until then, tilts in response to the tilt. Then, the opposing pressing angle Ar1 presses the upper surface of the first beam 23R downward, and the opposing pressing angle Ar2 presses the lower surface of the second beam 25R upward. Here, as described above, the first beam 23R has a smaller rigidity in the height direction Z than the second beam 25R. Therefore, even if the pressing angle Ar1 presses the first beam 23R downward and the pressing angle Ar2 presses the second beam 25R upward, the downward bending of the first beam 23R is larger than the upward bending of the second beam 25R. The downward bending of the first beam 23R causes the contact 231R to contact the flat cable 300.
Here, it is preferable that the contact pressure of the contact 231R against the flat cable 300 reaches a peak at the stage of Fig. 6(b) while the actuator 15 is on its way to the operation completion position shown in Fig. 7(b). This is to give the person operating the actuator 15 a clicking sensation during the rotational movement of the actuator 15.

[Step of Completing the Operation of Actuator 15: FIG. 7]
When the actuator 15 is tilted until it is laid flat as shown in FIG. 7, this operation is completed and the conductive pattern (not shown) of the flat cable 300 is pressed by the front contact 20F and the rear contact 20R.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), when the actuator 15 of the front contact 20F is tilted to a flat state, the cam 17 is in an upright state. Then, the pressing surface Ff1 presses the upper surface of the first beam 23F downward, and the pressing surface Ff2 opposite to the pressing surface Ff1 presses the lower surface of the second beam 25F upward. Since the rigidity of the first beam 23F in the height direction Z is smaller than that of the second beam 25F, the first beam 23F bends downward further than before, and the contact 231F presses the flat cable 300. Since the flat cable 300 is placed on the first base 21F, the flat cable 300 is sandwiched between the first base 21F and the contact 231F of the first beam 23F. The front contact 20F is now in a pressing state in which the contact 231F is pressed against the flat cable 300.

As for the rear contact 20R, when the actuator 15 is tilted to a flat state as shown in FIG. 7(b), the cam 17 is in an upright state. Then, the pressing surface Fr1 presses the upper surface of the first beam 23R downward, and the pressing surface Fr2 opposite to the pressing surface Fr1 presses the lower surface of the second beam 25R upward. Since the rigidity of the first beam 23R in the height direction Z is smaller than that of the second beam 25R, the first beam 23R bends downward further than before, and the contact 231R presses the flat cable 300. Since the flat cable 300 is placed on the rear base 21R, the flat cable 300 is clamped by the rear base 21R and the contact 231R of the first beam 23R. The rear contact 20R is now in a pressing state in which the contact 231F is pressed against the flat cable 300.

[Pressing of flat cables 300 with different thicknesses: Figs. 8 and 9]
Next, an example of pressing a relatively thin flat cable 300, for example, at the lower limit of the thickness tolerance, and an example of pressing a relatively thick flat cable 300, for example, at the upper limit of the thickness tolerance, will be described. In this embodiment, the pressure received by the flat cable 300 can be controlled whether the flat cable 300 is thin or thick, as long as it is within the allowable range. In the following, the contact 231R on the first beam 23R of the rear contact 20R will be described as an example.

[Pressing the thin flat cable 300: FIG. 8]
By tilting the actuator 15 from the upright position as shown in Fig. 8(a) to the lying-flat operation completion position as shown in Fig. 8(b), the contact point 231R of the first beam 23R is pressed against the flat cable 300. Note that the thickness of the thin flat cable 300 is T1, and the distance between the flat cable 300 and the pressing surface Fr1 of the rear cam 17R at the operation completion position of the actuator 15 is D1.

FIG. 8C is an enlarged view of the contact portion between the flat cable 300 and the contact point 231R.
8(c), the contact 231R includes a first contact portion 233R and a second contact portion 235R that is continuous with and adjacent to the first contact portion 233R. The surface area of the first contact portion 233R is a1, and the surface area of the second contact portion 235R is a2 (>a1). The surface area a1 is the area where the first contact portion 233R contacts the flat cable 300, and the surface area a2 is the area where the second contact portion 235R contacts the flat cable 300.
The first beam 23R, on whose front end the contact point 231R is provided, has a small width (dimension in the height direction Z). Therefore, when the rear cam 17R is pressed downward against the first beam 23R, the contact point 231R can be displaced relative to the first beam 23R in the direction of the solid arrow in the figure. However, because the flat cable 300 is thin, the rear cam 17R has a distance D1 between the pressing surface Fr1 and the surface of the flat cable 300, and the contact point 231R remains in a state in which the first contact portion 233R is in contact with the flat cable 300, as shown in Figure 8(c). The load with which the cam 17 presses the first beam 23R in this state is defined as a pressing load L1.
The surface of the first contact portion 233R shown here is configured as a curved surface made of an arcuate surface, and the surface of the second contact portion 235R is configured as a flat surface, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the surface of the first contact portion 233R may be a flat surface, and the surface of the second contact portion 235R may be an arcuate surface. When the surfaces of both the first contact portion and the second contact portion 235R are arcuate surfaces, the radius of curvature of the arcuate surface of the second contact portion 235R is larger than that of the first contact portion 233R.

[Pressing of thick flat cable 300: FIG. 9]
By tilting the actuator 15 from the upright position as shown in Fig. 9(a) to the operation completion position in the lying flat state as shown in Fig. 9(b), the contact point 231R of the first beam 23R is pressed against the flat cable 300. Note that the thickness of the thick flat cable 300 is T2 (T2>T1), and the distance between the flat cable 300 and the pressing surface Fr1 of the cam 17 at the operation completion position of the actuator 15 is D2 (D2<D1).

FIG. 9C is an enlarged view of the contact portion between the flat cable 300 and the contact point 231R.
In Fig. 9(c), since the flat cable 300 is thick as T2, the distance D2 from the surface of the flat cable 300 to the pressing surface Fr1 of the cam 17 is narrower than the distance D1 of the thin flat cable 300. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 8(c) and 8(d), the contact 231R rotates clockwise around the first contact portion 233R, so that the second contact portion 235R contacts the surface of the flat cable 300 in parallel. In this way, the first contact portion 233R presses the flat cable 300, and then the second contact portion 235R presses the flat cable 300. The contact 231R rotates because the first beam 23R supporting the contact 231R is elastically deformed. The load with which the cam 17 presses the first beam 23R in this state is defined as a pressing load L2 (>L1).

[Comparison of contact pressure between thin flat cable 300 and thick flat cable 300: Figures 8 and 9]
The pressure load L2 in the thick flat cable 300 shown in Fig. 9 is larger than the pressure load L1 in the thin flat cable 300 shown in Fig. 8. Therefore, when the thick flat cable 300 is pressed, the contact 231R may break, for example, the gold plating on the conductive pattern surface of the flat cable 300. However, when the thick flat cable 300 is pressed, the second contact portion 235R of the contact 231R comes into contact with the flat cable 300. The surface area a2 of the second contact portion 235R is considerably larger than the surface area a1 of the first contact portion 233R. The contact pressures P1 and P2 received by the flat cable 300 are values obtained by dividing the pressure loads L1 and L2 by the surface areas a1 and a2. Since the surface area a2 is considerably larger than the surface area a1, the contact pressure P2 can be made equal to the contact pressure P1 even if the pressure load L2 is larger than the pressure load L1.

[effect]
The effects achieved by the electrical connector 10 will now be described.
The electrical contact 231R provided on the first beam 23R of the rear contact 20R according to this embodiment includes a first contact portion 233R and a second contact portion 235R having a larger area of contact with the flat cable 300 than the first contact portion 233R. Either the first contact portion 233R or the second contact portion 235R is selectively pressed against the flat cable 300. Therefore, if the first contact portion 233R having a smaller area is pressed against the flat cable 300 when a thin flat cable 300 is received, and the second contact portion 235R having a larger area is pressed against the flat cable 300 when a thick flat cable 300 is received, the contact pressure or Hertzian pressure can be kept within a predetermined range. This corrects problems such as the contact pressure of the contact 231R of the first beam 23R on the flat cable 300 being too small to obtain sufficient contact performance, or the contact pressure of the contact 231R of the first beam 23R on the flat cable 300 being too large to result in the gold plating being scraped off, thereby obtaining stable contact performance.

Next, the contact 231R according to this embodiment includes a first contact portion 233R and a second contact portion 235R adjacent to the first contact portion 233R, and the first contact portion 233R is pressed against the flat cable 300, and then the second contact portion 235R is pressed against the flat cable 300. Therefore, according to the electrical connector 10, the first contact portion 233R and the second contact portion 235R can be selectively pressed against the flat cable 300 with ease.
After the first contact portion 233R is pressed against the flat cable 300, the second contact portion 235R can easily press against the flat cable 300 due to the elastic deformation of the first beam 23R according to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, this elastic deformation is achieved by the rear cam 17R provided on the actuator 15. This actuator 15 has the function of switching the rear contact 20R between a pressed state in which the contact 231R is pressed against the flat cable 300, and an open state in which the contact 231R is separated from the flat cable 300. In this way, the rear cam 17R of the actuator 15 achieves two functions: a first function of selecting the first contact portion 233R and the second contact portion 235R by the elastic deformation of the first beam 23R, and a second function of switching between the pressed state and the open state.

Regarding the first function, the first beam 23R has less rigidity in the direction in which it receives the load from the cam 17 than the second beam 25R. Also, the first support piece 27R supporting the first beam 23R has less rigidity in the direction in which it receives the load from the cam 17 (in this case, the X direction, a direction intersecting the Z direction) than the second support piece 29R supporting the second beam 25R. This makes it easy to elastically deform the first beam 23R by operating the rear cam 17R.

In addition to the above, the configurations described in the above embodiments can be selected or changed to other configurations as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
For example, in the above embodiment, the electrical connector having two types of contacts, the front contacts 20F and the rear contacts 20R, has been described as the target, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the present disclosure may be applied to an electrical connector having only one type of contact corresponding to the front contacts 20F, or to an electrical connector having only one type of contact corresponding to the rear contacts 20R. In either case, however, it is assumed that the flat cable 300 is pressed by the contacts.

In the above embodiment, the actuator 15 is a so-called front flip type that rotates forward with respect to the insertion direction of the flat cable 300, but it can also be a back flip type that rotates backward with respect to the insertion direction of the flat cable 300. The position of the actuator 15 is not limited to the front end side of the housing 11, and it can also be provided on the rear end side, etc.

10 Electrical connector 11 Housing 12 Cavity 13F, 13R Anti-slip protrusion 15 Actuator 15A Camshaft 15B End 16 Lever 17 Cam 17F Front cam 17R Rear cam 18 Actuator camshaft 20 Contact 20F Front contact 20R Rear contact 21F Front base 21R Rear base 23F, 23R First beam 25F, 25R Second beam 27F, 27R First support piece 29F, 29R Second support piece 40 Peg 41 Beam 42 Engagement hole 211F, 211R Stopper claw 213F, 213R Tine 231F, 231R Contact 233R First contact portion 235R Second contact portion 291F, 291R Anti-slip protrusion 300 Flat cable a1, a2 Surface area Af1, Af2, Ar1, Ar2 Pressing angle D1, D2 Distance Ff1, Ff2, Fr1, Fr2 Pressing surface L1, L2 Pressing load P1, P2 Contact pressure X Front-rear direction Y Width direction Z Height direction

Claims (7)

a housing made of an electrically insulating material for receiving the flat cable;
a plurality of contacts arranged along a width direction of the housing, the contacts being electrically connected to the flat cable and made of a conductive material;
The contact is
a first beam provided opposite the flat cable and supported in a cantilever manner by a first support piece ;
a second beam provided at a distance from the first beam and supported in a cantilever manner by a second support piece ;
an electrical contact provided on the first beam and pressed against the flat cable;
an actuator having a cam for switching the contact between a pressed state in which the contact is pressed against the flat cable and an open state in which the contact is separated from the flat cable ;
The contacts are:
a first contact portion; and a second contact portion connected to the first contact portion and having a larger area of contact with the flat cable than the first contact portion,
At least a portion of the first contact portion and/or at least a portion of the second contact portion are pressed against the flat cable ;
one of a surface of the first contact portion and a surface of the second contact portion is an arcuate surface and the other is a flat surface;
The cam is
The first beam is pressed toward the flat cable at a position shifted toward the first support piece from the contact point,
1. An electrical connector comprising:
The first contact portion is pressed against the flat cable, and then the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.
2. The electrical connector of claim 1.
Due to elastic deformation of the first beam, the first contact portion is pressed against the flat cable, and then the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.
3. The electrical connector of claim 2.
When the flat cable is relatively thin, only the first contact portion is pressed against the flat cable,
When the flat cable is relatively thick, the second contact portion is pressed against the flat cable.
The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The cam is
provided between the first beam and the second beam;
5. The electrical connector according to claim 1.
The first beam has a smaller rigidity in a direction Z in which the first beam receives a load from the cam than the second beam.
6. The electrical connector of claim 5.
The contact is
a base supporting the first beam and the second beam;
the first support piece connecting the base and the first beam and supporting the first beam in a cantilever manner;
The second support piece connects the base and the second beam and supports the second beam in a cantilever manner,
The first support piece has a rigidity in a direction X intersecting the load receiving direction Z that is smaller than a rigidity of the second support piece in the intersecting direction X.
7. The electrical connector of claim 6.

Images