Connector and connecting method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11211726-B2
Application number	US-202016930826-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2020
Priority date	Aug 23, 2019
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A connector includes a pushing member having a projection, and a contact having a projection accommodating portion of a recess shape, the projection includes a holding portion extending across the projection in a direction orthogonal to a projecting direction of the projection and holding a flexible conductor, when the projection is inserted into the projection accommodating portion of the contact together with the flexible conductor with a middle part of the flexible conductor being held by the holding portion of the projection, parts of the flexible conductor that are situated on opposite sides of and are adjoining the middle part of the flexible conductor are sandwiched between a lateral surface of the projection and an inner surface of the projection accommodating portion to contact the inner surface of the projection accommodating portion, whereby the contact is electrically connected to the flexible conductor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector to be connected to a flexible conductor, the connector comprising:
a pushing member having a projection; and
a contact made of a conductive material and having a tubular portion and a projection accommodating portion of a recess shape formed in the tubular portion into which the projection is inserted,
wherein the projection includes a holding portion extending across the projection in a direction orthogonal to a projecting direction of the projection and holding the flexible conductor, and
wherein, when the projection is inserted into the projection accommodating portion of the contact together with the flexible conductor with a middle part of the flexible conductor being held by the holding portion of the projection, parts of the flexible conductor that are situated on opposite sides of and are adjoining the middle part of the flexible conductor are sandwiched between a lateral surface of the projection and an inner surface of the projection accommodating portion to contact the inner surface of the projection accommodating portion, whereby the contact is electrically connected to the flexible conductor.

2. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the holding portion comprises a holding groove opening at a tip of the projection in the projecting direction and extending across the projection.

3. The connector according to claim 2 , wherein the holding portion includes a narrow portion in the holding groove, the narrow portion having a width narrower than a width of the holding groove at opposite ends of the holding groove in a direction in which the holding groove extends.

4. The connector according to claim 2 , wherein the holding portion includes an enlarged portion in the holding groove, the enlarged portion having a width wider than a width of the holding groove at an opening end of the holding groove opening in the projecting direction.

5. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the holding portion comprises a holding hole penetrating across the projection.

6. The connector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pushing member comprises a base member including a flat plate portion and a plurality of the projections formed to project on the flat plate portion, and
wherein the plurality of the projections are separately inserted into the projection accommodating portions of a plurality of the contacts with a plurality of the flexible conductors being sandwiched therebetween.

7. The connector according to claim 6 , wherein the holding portions of the plurality of the projections extend in a same direction.

8. The connector according to claim 6 , wherein the flat plate portion includes a plurality of pairs of flexible conductor accommodating grooves, each of the pairs of the flexible conductor accommodating grooves being separately disposed on opposite sides across a corresponding one of the projections and accommodating a corresponding one of the flexible conductors.

9. The connector according to claim 8 , wherein the pair of the flexible conductor accommodating grooves separately disposed on opposite sides of each of the projections separately extend in directions intersecting each other.

10. The connector according to claim 6 ,
wherein the contact has a contact-side flange formed at one end of the tubular portion,
wherein the connector further includes a housing having a contact through-hole through which the tubular portion of the contact passes and which is smaller than the contact-side flange, and
wherein, when the housing is fixed to the base member such that the tubular portion of the contact passes through the contact through-hole and the contact-side flange is pressed against the base member, the contact is fixed to the base member.

11. The connector according to claim 10 ,
wherein the housing has a plurality of bosses projecting toward the base member,
wherein the base member has a plurality of boss accommodating holes for accommodating the plurality of bosses, and
wherein the plurality of bosses are accommodated in the plurality of boss accommodating portions to fix the housing to the base member.

12. The connector according to claim 10 , wherein the housing is made of an insulating material.

13. The connector according to claim 10 , wherein the housing has a counter connector accommodating portion for accommodating a part of a counter connector.

14. The connector according to claim 6 , wherein the base member is made of an insulating material.

15. The connector according to claim 6 , further comprising a connector fixing member of a sheet shape held by the base member and extending to an outside of the base member.

16. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the pushing member has a pushing member-side flange joined to a root portion of the projection.

17. The connector according to claim 16 , wherein the pushing member-side flange includes a key portion having directionality corresponding to a direction in which the holding portion of the projection extends.

18. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible conductor is independently disposed on the pushing member.

19. The connector according to claim 1 ,
wherein the flexible conductor is disposed to be exposed on a top surface of an insulating substrate body, and
wherein the flexible conductor is disposed on the pushing member such that the flexible conductor faces the inner surface of the projection accommodating portion while a bottom surface of the substrate body faces the lateral surface of the projection.

20. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the contact is a plug-type contact.

21. A connecting method for connecting a contact to a flexible conductor, the contact having a tubular portion and a projection accommodating portion of a recess shape formed in the tubular portion, the method comprising:
holding a middle part of the flexible conductor by a holding portion extending across a projection of a pushing member in a direction orthogonal to a projecting direction of the projection; and
inserting the projection into the projection accommodating portion of a recess shape of the contact together with the flexible conductor, whereby parts of the flexible conductor that are situated on opposite sides of and are adjoining the middle part of the flexible conductor are sandwiched between a lateral surface of the projection and an inner surface of the projection accommodating portion to contact the inner surface of the projection accommodating portion, whereby the contact is electrically connected to the flexible conductor.

22. The connecting method according to claim 21 , the method further comprising:
temporarily fixing a plurality of the pushing members to a pushing jig of a flat plate shape;
holding the middle parts of a plurality of the flexible conductors separately by the holding portions of the projections of the plurality of the pushing members;
pressing the pushing jig against a housing, by which a plurality of the contacts are held, to insert each of the projections of the pushing members into the projection accommodating portion of a corresponding one of the contacts together with a corresponding one of the flexible conductors; and
detaching the pushing jig from the plurality of the pushing members.

23. The connecting method according to claim 22 ,
wherein the pushing members have pushing member-side flanges each of which is joined to a root portion of a corresponding one of the projections and

Assignees

• Japan Aviation Electronics Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Komoto Tetsuya
• Matsuo Seiya
• Hashiguchi Osamu
• Kimura Akira
• Matsunaga Akihiro

Classifications

• H01R12/592

  connections to contact elements · CPC title

• H01R13/10

  Sockets for co-operation with pins or blades · CPC title

• H01R12/778 Primary

  Coupling parts carrying sockets, clips or analogous counter-contacts (H01R12/78, H01R12/79 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01R4/28

  Clamped connections, spring connections (made by means of terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits H01R12/00) · CPC title

• H01R12/777

  Coupling parts carrying pins, blades or analogous contacts (H01R12/78, H01R12/79 take precedence) · CPC title