Electrical connector for use with flexible printed circuit

Claim 1

An electrical connector adapted to be used with a flexible printed circuit, comprising: an insulation casing, having an interior chamber defined by two opposite longitudinal side walls and having an opening formed on a front side of the casing and a bottom formed on an opposite rear side of the casing, a plurality of slots being formed inside the interior chamber, each of said slots having a bottom section extending from the rear side of the casing to partially penetrate into the bottom and a side section defined by a recess formed on each of the longitudinal side walls and extending from the bottom section to the front side of the casing, a central channel being formed on the bottom of the interior chamber to be located between the two side sections and extending from the bottom section to the interior chamber a plurality of conductive terminal members, each comprising a base inserted into the bottom section of each of the slots from the rear side of the casing, and a first arm and a second opposite arm respectively extending from the base substantially along the direction as the base inserted into and defining therebetween a spacing, wherein each of said arms received within the side section of the slot, and each of the arms having an inclined outer edge that faces the corresponding longitudinal side wall to define a first gap therebetween so as to allow the first and second arms to be bent away from each other for defining an increased spacing therebetween, a central arm extending from the base to be received within the central channel and retained therein with retaining means; driver means, which is retained on the casing by means of retaining means, being inserted movably to the casing from the front side to the rear side of the casing, said driver means comprising a plate movably received within the spacing defined between the arms of the terminal members, and a shallow recession formed on at least one side of said plate for passing the flexible printed circuit, and selectively defining a second gap with the corresponding one of the side walls of the casing for receiving the flexible printed circuit therein; said connector being characterized in that: by means that each of that first arm and the second arm is spaced from the corresponding side wall by the first gap, and both of the arms are able to be bent away from each other, the driver means can be inserted into between both of said arms and retained in the casing in two selectable manners of the shallow recession thereof facing respectively either longitudinal side walls of the casing, so that the flexible printed circuit inserted though the shallow recession can contact electrically either the first arm or the second arm of the terminal members.