Electrical Connector

The present invention relates to an electrical connector in which force for holding a flexible cable is increased.

In a known electrical connector, a slider 3 having a pressing portion 3a is temporarily engaged with a housing 2 in which a terminal 1 is accommodated and an end conductor 4a of a flexible cable 4 is inserted into the housing 2 together with a reinforcing plate 5 as shown in FIG. 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the slider 3 is depressed to a full engaging position such that the end conductor 4a of the flexible cable 4 is brought into pressing contact with a contact piece 1a of the terminal 1 through the reinforcing plate 4 by the pressing portion 3a of the slider 3.

However, holding of the flexible cable 4 depends upon contact pressure of the terminal 1 relative to the flexible cable 4. Thus, if the number of poles of the terminal 1 is large, force for holding the flexible cable 4 increases. On the contrary, if the number of poles of the terminal 1 is small, force for holding the flexible cable 4 decreases. Hence, the known electrical connector has such drawbacks that the flexible cable 4 is readily detached from the housing 2 and improper contact between the end conductor 4a of the flexible cable 4 and the terminal 1 is likely to take place. Furthermore, in the known electrical connector, since space for inserting the flexible cable 4 into the housing 2 is narrow, operation for inserting the flexible cable 4 into the housing 2 is troublesome.

Accordingly, an essential object of the present invention is to provide, with a view to eliminating the inconveniences inherent in conventional electrical connectors, an electrical connector in which force for holding a flexible cable is increased so as to prevent the flexible cable from being readily detached from a housing such that reliability of connection between the flexible cable and a terminal is raised.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector in which the flexible cable can be inserted into the housing easily.

In order to accomplish these objects of the present invention, an electrical connector embodying the present invention comprises: a terminal which includes a contact piece; a housing; a slider which includes a pressing portion having a pressing face; a flexible cable which includes an end conductor; and a reinforcing plate which has a pressed face to be pressed by the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider; wherein after the slider has been temporarily engaged with the housing in which the terminal is accommodated, the end conductor of the flexible cable is inserted together with the reinforcing plate into the housing and then, the slider is displaced to a full engaging position such that the end conductor of the flexible cable is brought into pressing contact with the contact piece of the terminal through the reinforcing plate by the pressing portion of the slider; wherein the pressed face of the reinforcing plate is formed obliquely such that the reinforcing plate becomes thinner from a front end of the reinforcing plate towards a rear end of the reinforcing plate, while the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider is formed obliquely such that the slider becomes thicker from a front end of the slider towards a rear end of the slider.

In the electrical connector of the present invention, the pressed face of the reinforcing plate is formed obliquely such that the reinforcing plate becomes thinner from the front end of the reinforcing plate towards the rear end of the reinforcing plate, while the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider is formed obliquely such that the slider becomes thicker from the front end of the slider towards the rear end of the slider.

Therefore, when the flexible cable is inserted together with the reinforcing plate into the housing after the slider has been temporarily engaged with the housing, gap between the contact piece of the slider and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider becomes wider and thus, the flexible cable can be easily inserted into the housing.

Meanwhile, when the slider has been depressed to the full engaging position, the pressed face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider are obliquely brought into contact with each other and thus, frictional force therebetween is increased in comparison with an arrangement in which both the pressed face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider are formed horizontally. Furthermore, if the flexible cable is pulled in a direction for detaching the flexible cable from the housing, the pressed face of the reinforcing plate holds onto the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider, so that contact pressure therebetween is increased, thereby resulting in increase of force for holding the flexible cable. Therefore, the flexible cable is prevented from being readily detached from the housing.

These objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a prior art electrical connector in which a slider is disposed at a full engaging position (already referred to);

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the prior art electrical connector of FIG. 1, in which the slider is disposed at a temporary engaging position (already referred to);

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an electrical connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a slider is disposed at a full engaging position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the electrical connector of FIG. 3, in which the slider is disposed at a temporary engaging position;

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional exploded side elevational view of the electrical connector of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8a is a top plan view of a slider of the electrical connector of FIG. 7;

FIG. 8b is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIb--VIIIb in FIG. 8a;

FIG. 9a is a side elevational view of a flat cable of the electrical connector of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9b is a top plan view of FIG. 9a; and

FIGS. 10a and 10b are views indicative of steps of assembly of the flat cable of FIG. 9a.

Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout several views of the accompanying drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, an electrical connector K1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the electrical connector K1 includes a housing 11 made of synthetic resin. A plurality of slots 11a for receiving metallic terminals 12, respectively are formed on the housing 11 at a predetermined interval in a longitudinal direction of the housing 11. A contact piece recess 11b and a positioning piece recess 11c are formed on each of a pair of opposed walls defining each of the slots 11a and are separated from each other by a partition wall 11d.

In the terminal 12 formed by a forked sheet, a contact piece 12a and a positioning piece 12b project horizontally substantially in parallel with each other from a front face of a vertical coupling portion 12e, while a lead piece 12c is formed at a lower end of a rear face of the coupling portion 12e. When the contact piece 12a and the positioning piece 12b of the terminal 12 have been, respectively, inserted into the contact piece recess 11b and the positioning piece recess 11c from a rear inlet 11e of each of the slots 11a, two locking projections 12d formed on the positioning piece 12b of the terminal 12 hold onto a lower face of the partition wall 11d so as to prevent the terminal 12 from being detached from the housing 11 and thus, the terminal 12 is secured in the slot 11a as shown in FIG. 4.

On the other hand, the slider 13 is made of synthetic resin and includes opposite end portions 13a and 13b and a pressing portion 13c for coupling the end portions 13a and 13b. The end portions 13a and 13b are adapted to be engaged with opposite outer end faces of the housing 11, respectively. A pressing face 13d is formed on an upper face of the pressing portion 13c and the pressing portion 13c has a front end 13e edge a rear edge 13f. The pressing face 13d of the pressing portion 13c is formed obliquely such that the pressing portion 13c becomes thicker from the front edge 13e towards the rear edge 13f. An angle a (FIG. 5) of inclination of the pressing face 13d preferably ranges from 3.degree. to 7.degree.. If the angle a of inclination of the pressing face 13d is smaller than 3.degree., force for holding a flexible cable 14 to be described later is reduced. On the contrary, when the angle a of inclination of the pressing face 13d exceeds 7.degree., the flexible cable 14 is required to be inserted into the housing 11 obliquely.

The flexible cable 14 includes a conductor gripped between upper and lower insulating films. At a distal end portion of the flexible cable 14, the upper insulating film is cut off so as to expose an end conductor 14a. An upper face of a reinforcing plate 15 made of synthetic resin is held in contact with a lower face of the lower insulating film. The reinforcing plate 15 has a front edge 15b and a rear edge 15c. A lower face 15a of the reinforcing plate 15, which is pressed by the pressing face 13d of the pressing portion 13c, is formed obliquely such that the reinforcing plate 15 becomes thinner from the front edge 15b towards the rear edge 15c. An angle b (FIG. 5) of inclination of the lower face 15a preferably ranges from 3.degree. to 7.degree. on the same grounds as those of the angle a of inclination of the pressing face 13d of the slider 13.

By the above described arrangement of the electrical connector K1, the terminal 12 is initially inserted into the slot 11a from the rear inlet 11e so as to be secured in the slot 11a. Then, the opposite end portions 13a and 13b of the slider 13 are slightly engaged with the opposite outer end faces of the housing 11, respectively such that the slider 13 is temporarily engaged with the housing 11 as shown in FIG. 4.

In this temporary engaging state of the slider 13, the end conductor 14a of the flexible cable 14 is inserted together with the reinforcing plate 15 into the housing 11 from a front inlet 11f. At this time, since the pressing face 13d of the pressing portion 13c of the slider 13 is inclined downwardly towards the front edge 13e, gap between the pressing face 13d and the contact piece 12a of the terminal 12 is increased in comparison with those of conventional electrical connectors and thus, the flexible cable 14 can be easily inserted into the housing 11.

Subsequently, the slider 13 is further depressed so as to be fully engaged with the housing 11 as shown in FIG. 3. At this full engaging position of the slider 13, the end conductor 14a of the flexible cable 14 is brought into pressing contact with the contact piece 12a of the terminal 12 through the reinforcing plate 15 by the pressing portion 13c of the slider 13. At this time, since the lower face 15a of the reinforcing plate 15 and the pressing face 13d of the slider 13 are obliquely brought into contact with each other, frictional force therebetween is increased in comparison with those of known electrical connectors in which both the lower face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the slider are horizontally brought into contact with each other.

When the flexible cable 14 is pulled for some reason or other in a direction for detaching the flexible cable 14 from the housing 11, the lower face 15a of the reinforcing plate 15 which is thicker towards the front edge 15b holds onto the pressing face 13a of the slider 13 which is thicker towards the rear edge 13f and thus, contact pressure between the lower face 15a of the reinforcing plate 15 and the pressing face 13a of the slider 13 is increased. Therefore, as the flexible cable 14 is pulled powerfully more and more in the direction for detaching the flexible cable 14 from the housing 11, contact pressure between the lower face 15a of the reinforcing plate 15 and the pressing face 13a of the slider 13 is raised further, so that force for holding the flexible cable 14 is increased. As a result, the flexible cable 14 is prevented from being readily detached from the housing 11.

As is clear from the foregoing description of the electrical connector K1, the lower face of the reinforcing plate is formed obliquely such that the reinforcing plate becomes thinner from the front edge towards the rear edge, while the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider is formed obliquely such that the slider becomes thicker from the front edge towards the rear edge. Therefore, in the electrical connector K1, when the slider is temporarily engaged with the housing and the flexible cable is inserted together with the reinforcing plate into the housing, gap between the contact piece of the terminal and the pressing face of the pressing portion is increased and thus, the flexible cable can be inserted into the housing easily.

Meanwhile, in the electrical connector K1, when the slider has been depressed to the full engaging position, the lower face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider are obliquely brought into contact with each other, so that frictional force therebetween is increased in comparison with that of an arrangement in which both the lower face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider are horizontally brought into contact with each other. Furthermore, when the flexible cable is pulled in the direction for detaching the flexible cable from the housing, the lower face of the reinforcing plate holds onto the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider, so that contact pressure between the lower face of the reinforcing plate and the pressing face of the pressing portion of the slider is increased and thus, force for holding the flexible cable is increased. As a result, the flexible cable is advantageously prevented from being readily detached from the housing.

FIGS. 7 to 10b show an electrical connector K2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the metallic forked terminal 12 is inserted into one side of a housing 16 made of synthetic resin acting as insulating material, while a slider 18 made of synthetic resin is inserted together with a flat cable 19 (FIG. 9a) into the other side of the housing 16 such that the flat cable 19 and the terminal 12 are brought into elastic contact with each other by the slider 18.

As shown in FIG. 10a, a plurality of slots 20 for receiving the terminals 12, respectively are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the housing 16. To this end, a plurality of vertical partition walls 21 are provided at a predetermined interval at a side of a rear inlet 16a of each of the slots 20 and a horizontal partition wall 22 is provided in each of the slots 20. The housing 16 further has a front inlet 40 (FIG. 10a) communicating with the slots 20. Meanwhile, a pair of mounting portions 23 are provided at opposite ends of the housing 16, respectively and each of the mounting portions 23 includes upper and lower grip pieces 23a and 23b for holding the slider 18. A temporary engaging projection 24a and a full engaging projection 24b are formed between the upper and lower grip pieces 23a and 23b.

As shown in FIG. 8a, the slider 18 has a substantially U-shaped construction and includes an elongated base plate 25. In FIG. 7, a pair of opposite end portions 25a extend upwardly from opposite ends of the base plate 25, respectively. A holding portion 26 extends forwardly from a front face of each of the end portions 25a, while a sheetlike pressing portion 27 is provided at a middle portion 25b of the slider 18 between the end portions 25a so as to project forwardly from the middle portion 25b. The pressing portion 27 projecting from the middle portion 25b has a pressing face 27a flush with an upper face of the middle portion 25b and a distal end portion 27b extending obliquely downwardly from a front edge of the pressing face 27a. A boss 28 engageable with the flat cable 19 is provided at a substantially central portion of the upper face 27a so as to project upwardly from the front edge to a rear edge of the pressing face 27a.

Meanwhile, a temporary engaging recess 26a and a full engaging recess 26b are formed inside the holding portion 26 of the slider 18. When the holding portion 26 of the slider 18 is inserted between the grip pieces 23a and 23b of the housing 16, the temporary engaging projections 24a and 24b are, respectively, engaged with the temporary engaging recess 24a and the full engaging recess 24b of the housing 16 so as to set the slider 18 to a temporary engaging position and a full engaging position of the slider 18.

As shown in FIG. 9a, the flat cable 19 includes a plurality of conductors 19a arranged at a predetermined interval. The conductors 19a are gripped between upper and lower insulating films 19b and 19c. At a distal end portion of the flat cable 19, the upper insulating film 19b is cut off through a predetermined length so as to expose the conductors 19a. Meanwhile, a reinforcing plate 30 having a width equal to that of the lower insulating film 19c is secured to a lower face of the lower insulating film 19c so as to extend through a predetermined length from a distal end of the lower insulating film 19c. The reinforcing plate 30 is formed by a flat plate made of insulating material. A groove 31 is formed at a substantially central portion of a lower face 30a of the reinforcing plate 30 so as to extend from a location spaced a predetermined distance from a front edge of the reinforcing plate 30 to a rear edge of the reinforcing plate 30. The groove 31 is disposed so as to confront the boss 28 of the slider 18. The lower face 30a of the reinforcing plate 30 is pressed by the pressing face 27a of the pressing portion 27 of the slider 18.

Then, assembly steps of the electrical connector K2 of the above described arrangement are described with reference to FIGS. 10a and 10b. Initially, after the terminal 12 has been inserted into each of the slots 20 of the housing 16 from the rear inlet 16a as shown in FIG. 10a, the slider 18 and the flat cable 19 are inserted into the housing 16 from the front inlet 40. Namely, the temporary engaging boss 24a of the housing 16 is engaged with the temporary engaging recess 26a of the holding portion 26 of the slider 18 and a front face 26c (FIG. 7) of the holding portion 26 is brought into contact with the full engaging projection 24b such that the slider 18 is temporarily engaged with the housing 16. In this temporary engaging state of the slider 18, the reinforcing plate 30 of the flat cable 19 is inserted, along the pressing face 27a of the pressing portion 27, between the contact piece 12a and the positioning piece 12b of the terminal 12 inserted into the housing 16. At this time, since the boss 28 of the pressing portion 27 of the slider 18 is disposed so as to confront the groove 31 of the reinforcing plate 30 of the flat cable 19, the boss 28 is fitted into the groove 31 so as to guide the reinforcing plate 30.

Subsequently, by depressing the slider 18 to the full engaging position, the slider 18 is displaced while the boss 28 is slid up to a front end of the groove 31. Meanwhile, by this displacement of the slider 18, the downwardly inclined distal end portion 27b of the pressing portion 27 is inserted between the contact piece 12a and the positioning piece 12b of the terminal 12, so that the flat cable 19 is pushed upwardly by the pressing face 27a of the pressing portion 27 so as to be brought into pressing contact with the contact piece 17a and thus, the slider 18 is set in the full engaging state as shown in FIG. 10b.

In the full engaging state of the slider 18 in the electrical connector K2, since the boss 28 of the pressing portion 27 of the slider 18 is engaged with the groove 31 of the reinforcing plate 30 of the flat cable 19, the flat cable 19 can be prevented from being detached from the housing 16 even if pulling force for detaching the flat cable 19 from the housing 16 is applied to the flat cable 19.

Meanwhile, the electrical connector K2 is not restricted to the above described arrangement. For example, the pressing portion 27 and the reinforcing plate 30 may have a plurality of the bosses 28 and a plurality of the grooves 31, respectively such that force of engagement between the pressing portion 27 and the reinforcing plate 30 is increased.

As will seen from the foregoing of the electrical connector K2, the boss of the pressing portion of the slider is brought into engagement with the groove of the reinforcing plate of the flat cable. Therefore, even if pulling force for detaching the flat cable from the housing is applied to the flat cable, the boss of the pressing portion is brought into contact with the front end of the groove and thus, the flat cable can be prevented from being detached from the housing.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted here that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.