EP0214830A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
FPC connector
Assignee: EIDP Inc
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Filing: 1986-09-02
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-09-02
Abstract
Abstract An electrical connector for a flexible printed circuit (FPC) is composed of an insulative housing (10) containing resilient female contacts (20) accessible via an opening (11) which receives a flexible printed circuit assembly (30). The assembly is composed of a V-shaped spring member (40) to which the FPC is bonded. An area of the FPC has an exposed array of spaced conductors (33a) which mate with contact regions (22) of the contacts when the assembly is inserted into the housing through the opening after initially compressing the sections of the spring member (40) together.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshio Kinoshita
- 👤 Naoki Hiyama
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 12:34
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/648; H01R12/00; H01R12/50; H01R12/59; H01R12/592; H01R12/70; H01R12/77; H01R12/78; H05; H05K; H05K1/00; H05K1/02; H05K1/0277; H05K1/028; H05K1/0281; H05K3/00; H05K3/30; H05K3/32; H05K3/325
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
171 words
A connector for flexible printed circuits, said connector comprising: an insulating housing (10) having an elongated opening (11) and an array of female resilient contacts (20), arranged within the housing and accessible through the opening (11), each contact (20) having a first region (21) fitted to a first wall (15) of said housing at one side of the elongated opening and a second contact region (22) disposed alongside a second wall (16) of the housing facing the first wall; and a flexible printed circuit assembly comprising a V-shaped spring member (40) made from sheet material bent along a line to provide first and second sections (42,43) and a flexible printed circuit (31,32,33) attached to the outside surface of the spring member (40) having an area of exposed-conductors (33a) for electrical connection with the contact regions of the contacts, whereby the flexible printed circuit assembly can be inserted into the housing through the opening with the spring member engaged between the fixed and contact regions of the female contacts under resilient force.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
171 words
A connector for flexible printed circuits, said connector comprising: an insulating housing (10) having an elongated opening (11) and an array of female resilient contacts (20), arranged within the housing and accessible through the opening (11), each contact (20) having a first region (21) fitted to a first wall (15) of said housing at one side of the elongated opening and a second contact region (22) disposed alongside a second wall (16) of the housing facing the first wall; and a flexible printed circuit assembly comprising a V-shaped spring member (40) made from sheet material bent along a line to provide first and second sections (42,43) and a flexible printed circuit (31,32,33) attached to the outside surface of the spring member (40) having an area of exposed-conductors (33a) for electrical connection with the contact regions of the contacts, whereby the flexible printed circuit assembly can be inserted into the housing through the opening with the spring member engaged between the fixed and contact regions of the female contacts under resilient force.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
A connector according to claim 1, wherein the flexible printed circuit comprises an insulating sheet (31) bonded to the outer surface of the spring member (40) and a parallel array of flat conductors (33) disposed on the outer surface of the sheet (31), the conductors being spaced apart to correspond with the spacing between the contacts (20).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
A connector according to claim 2, wherein the flexible printed circuit further comprises a further insulating sheet (32) which covers the conductor (33) over an area other than that where the conductors are exposed (33a), the further insulating sheet (32) extending over the section (42) of the V-shaped member (40) which lies adjacent the first regions (21) of the contacts (20).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and further comprising a plurality of spacers (17) arranged on the first wall (15) of the housing (10) for locating the first regions (21) of the contacts (20) and isolating the contacts from one another.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
A connector according to claim 4, wherein the spacers take the form of ribs (17) extending along the first wall (15) of the housing (10) in the same direction as the first regions (21) of the contacts (20) and having upstanding projections extending along a further wall of the housing perpendicular to the first wall (15).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
82 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the section (43) of the V-shaped member (40) which is intended to lie adjacent the contact regions (27) of the contacts (20) is bent further along a line toward the other section (42) which is intended to lie adjacent the first regions (21) of the contacts (20) to provide an extension section (47) which is bent again along another line at an end margin away from the other section (42).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
74 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and further comprising projections (13) provided at the marginal edges of the second wall (14) of the housing adjacent the opening (11) which engage with stops (45) on the section (47) of the V-shaped member (40) which is intended to be adjacent to the contact regions (22) of the contacts (20) to locate the flexible printed circuit assembly (30) within the housing (10).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
70 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the section (43) of the V-shaped member (40) which is intended to be adjacent the contact regions (22) of the contacts (20) is provided with lateral projections (45) which act as a latch to engage with stops (13) formed adjacent the opening (11) of the housing (10) to retain the flexible printed circuit assembly (30) in the housing.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
77 words
A connector according to any of claims 1 to 8 and further comprising guide means (44) formed at the side edges of the section (42) of the spring member (40) which is intended to lie adjacent the first regions (21) of the contacts (20), said guide means being engageable with rail means (12) on opposite side walls of the housing at the sides of the opening (11) to guide the flexible printed circuit assembly into the housing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
A connector according to claim 9, wherein the guide means (44) is composed of lateral projections of the section (42) of the spring member (40), and the rail means is composed of grooves (12) formed in the inner surfaces of the opposite side walls of the housing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
40 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and further comprising a protective sheet (50) mounted on the outer surface of said flexible printed circuit to extend at least partly over the sections of the V-shaped member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the spring member (40) is made from a synthetic resin sheet or a metallic sheet.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the housing has a further opening (19) through which pins (23) connected to the contacts (20) extend.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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