Abstract:
An ultra-thin flat flexible circuit board connector includes a movable lid capable of lifting and overturning as an upper side wall of the flexible circuit board connector. Positions of the movable lid having been lifted and overturned are an at an opposite direction to that of the flexible circuit board to be inserted, and thus leaving insertion operations of the flexible circuit board entirely unaffected. A breadth of the lifting and overturning movable lid has a plurality of terminal grooves. When the movable lid is closed, terminals of the flexible circuit board are partially exposed in the terminal grooves at the movable lid, thereby effectively reducing thickness of the flexible circuit board connector for forming an ultra-thin flexible circuit board connector.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    (a) Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates to a flat flexible circuit board connector, and more particularly, to a flexible circuit board connector having an upper side wall as a movable lid capable of lifting and overturning, while lifted and overturned positions of the movable lid leaving insertions of the flexible circuit board unaffected.  
           [0003]    (b) Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Referring to FIGS.  1  to  3  showing a structure and operations of a prior flexible circuit board  10 , the flexible circuit board  10  comprises a lengthy longitudinal insulation body  20  and a U-shaped movable lid  30 . Inserting terminals  25  are placed in an interior of the insulation body  20 . The movable lid  30  has left and right projecting flanges  32  for pivotally connecting side walls  24  at two sides of the insulation body  20 . The movable lid  30  is allowed with a certain distance for withdrawal and a certain angle for rotation, so as to enable a flexible circuit board  90  to insert into an embedding slot in the insulation body  20 , and to further electrically connect the flexible circuit board  90  with the inserting terminals  25  in the insulation body  20 . Thus, the movable lid  30  is joined and positioned with the insulation body  20 , and the flexible circuit board  90  is steadily fastened in the embedding slot in the insulation body  20 .  
           [0005]    However, the insulation body  20  has a sealed structure consisted of upper and lower side walls, and left and right side walls, with the inserting terminals  25  enclosed therein. This structure naturally prohibits the movable lid  30  to become a part of the upper side wall of the insulation body  20 . As a result, pivotal fulcrums for lifting and overturning, or closing the movable lid  30  cannot be disposed at a rear portion of the insulation body  20 . Instead, the pivotal fulcrums are necessarily provided at the two side walls of the insulation body  20 , and thus the movable lid  30  is only capable of lifting and overturning, or covering in a U shape. Referring to FIG. 2, an angle for lifting and rotation is limited. Especially when the movable lid  30  displays a beveled position after having been withdrawn and lifted, the movable lid  30  is approximately above a front portion of the embedding slot of the insulation body  20 . At this point, alignment of the flexible circuit board  90  with the embedding slot of the insulation body  20  is somewhat hindered, and insertion of the flexible circuit board  90  is often obstructed.  
           [0006]    Therefore, the invention provides an advanced and complete structure of a flexible circuit board connector, which not only facilitates insertion and embedding of flexible circuit boards but also effectively reduces thickness of flexible circuit boards.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The primary object of the invention is to provide an ultra-thin and flat flexible circuit board connector, wherein an upper side wall of the flexible circuit board connector is formed by a movable lid capable of lifting and overturning. More particularly, positions of the movable lid having been lifted and overturned are at an opposite direction to that of a flexible circuit board to be inserted, thereby leaving insertion of the flexible circuit board entirely unaffected.  
           [0008]    The secondary object of the invention is to provide an ultra-thin and flat flexible circuit board connector, wherein the lifting and overturning movable lid has terminal grooves. When the movable lid is closed, the terminals of the flexible circuit board connector are partially exposed in the terminal grooves of the movable lid, thereby reducing thickness of the flexible circuit board connector for forming an ultra-thin flexible circuit board connector.  
           [0009]    The other object of the invention is to provide an ultra-thin and flat flexible circuit board connector, wherein a rear end face of the lifting and overturning movable lid is formed as a downwardly tilted structure, so that ends of the terminal grooves are formed as protruding axes having ellipsoidal cross sections. Each protruding axis forms a set of protruding mechanism with a terminal having a specific shape. When the movable lid is closed, displacement of ellipsoidal circumscriptions of the protruding axes compels front portions of the terminals to press downward. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    FIGS.  1  to  3  show conventional structural view and operating schematic views of a prior flexible circuit board connector.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 shows an elevational schematic view of the flat flexible circuit board according to the invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the flat flexible circuit board according to the invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of FIG. 5 along  6 - 6 .  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 shows a sectional view illustrating the movable lid  60  of the flat flexible circuit board connector being closed according to the invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 shows a sectional view illustrating the movable lid  60  of the flat flexible circuit board connector being lifted to a maximum angle thereof according to the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9 shows a schematic view illustrating the movable lid  60  of the flat flexible circuit board connector being lifted for insertion of the flexible circuit board  90  according to the invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 10 shows a schematic view illustrating the movable lid  60  of the flat flexible circuit board connector being closed after having inserted and fastened the flexible circuit board  90  therein.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIGS. 11 and 12 show schematic views illustrating the concave body  50  providing two sets of different terminals with staggered arrangements in the channels  53  according to the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    To better understand the invention, detailed descriptions shall be given with the accompanying drawings hereunder.  
         [0020]    Referring to FIGS.  4  to  6 , a flexible circuit board connector  40  according to the invention comprises a concave body  50 , a movable lid  60 , and a plurality of terminals  70  embedded at the concave body  60 . When the movable lid  60  is closed, it forms a cover of the concave body  50 , and the terminals  70  are exposed in terminal grooves  64  at the movable lid  60 , such that thickness of the flexible circuit board connector  40  is substantially reduced, and hence forming an ultra-thin flexible circuit board connector  40 .  
         [0021]    The concave body  50  has an open space facing downward for forming a portal slot of  51  of the concave body  50 . Positions at two sides of the portal slot  51  and adjacent to side walls of the portal slot  51  are extended upward with a certain height, so as to form left and right side flanges  52  for displaying the open space of the portal slot  51  as a double-tiered open space. The upper-tier open space is wider than the lower-tier open space. That is, an open space above the side flanges  52  forms the upper-tier open space of the portal slot  51  with a width of the open space measured as a distance between the left and right side walls; and an open space surrounded by sides of the side flanges  52  forms the lower-tier open space of the portal slot  51  with a width of the open space measure as a distance between the side flanges  52 . Referring to FIGS.  4  to  7 , the upper-tier open space of the portal slot  51  provides a space for covering the movable lid  60 . Hence, when the movable lid  60  forms a lid of the concave body  50  while closed, the lower-tier open space at the portal slot  51  serves as a space for inserting the flexible circuit board  90  as shown in FIG. 9, so as to electrically connect the flexible circuit board  90  with the terminals  70 .  
         [0022]    A breadth of the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50  has a plurality of channels  53 . Each channel  53  is formed with an embedding rib  54  having a sectional shape as shown in FIG. 6. To be more accurate, referring to FIG. 6, a top portion of the embedding rib  54  is sunken as a recess  543  having a certain height, whereas front and end portions of the embedding rib  54  are extended with tongues for forming a rear cog  541  and a front cog  542 . The above structure provides the concave body  50  with multiple functions. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the rear cog  541  and the front cog  542  enable a set of terminals  70  and another set of terminals  80  having a different style to be simultaneously inserted into the channels  53  of the concave body  50  in a staggered manner. Therefore, according to the above usage, suppose the concave body  50  provides insertion of only one set of terminals  70  into the channels  53 ; that is, the structure has only the rear cog  541  but not the front cog  542 ; another embodiment of a concave body  50  having a different structure is formed. In addition, the concave body  50  has a receiving surface  55  extended from rear sides thereof, respectively, so as to form fulcrums for lifting and closing the movable lid  60  by placing the pivotal axes  63  of the movable lid  60  thereon.  
         [0023]    Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, each terminal  70  has an upper pin  71 , a lower pin  72  and an embedding pin  73 , with an inserting gap  75 , a pivotal gap  76  and a cog gap  77  formed in between. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a terminal  80  shown has similar structures for the lower pin  72  and the embedding pin  73  of the terminal  70 , and thus shall not be unnecessarily described.  
         [0024]    The embedding pin  73  is connected to a rear end of the lower pin  72 , and forms the cog gap  77  in coordination with a distance between a front end thereof and a rear end of the lower pin  72 . Through dovetailing of the rear cog  541  at the embedding rib  54  of the concave body  50  to the cog gap  77  of the terminal  70 , the terminal  70  is steadily fastened in the channel  53  of the concave body  50 .  
         [0025]    The upper pin  71  and the lower pin  72  form an integral by joining with a plate  78 . A distance between a front end of the upper pin  71  and a front end of the lower pin  72  forms the inserting gap  75 . When the terminal  70  is fastened in the channel  53  at the concave body  50 , referring to FIGS.  7  to  9 , a position of the inserting gap  75  of the terminal  70  is exactly located at the lower-tier open space at the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50 , whereas the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70  is located at the upper-tier open space at the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the inserting gap  75  of the terminal  70  serves as an space for inserting the flexible circuit board  90 , so as to electrically connect the flexible circuit board  90  with the upper pin  71  and the lower pin  72 , and hence electrically connecting the flexible circuit board  90  with the terminal  70 . Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the front end of the lower pin  72  is exactly suspended above the recess  543  at the top portion of the embedding rib  54  of the concave body  50 . Consequently, the front end of the lower pin  72  forms a cantilever structure having flexibility to a certain extent, thereby facilitating insertion of the flexible circuit board  90  into the inserting gap  75  of the terminal  70 .  
         [0026]    A distance between a rear end of the upper pin  71  and a rear end of the lower pin  72  forms a pivotal gap  76 . In addition, the rear end of the upper pin  71  is bent downward for forming the bent portion  74 . Hence, an opening of the pivotal gap  76  is relatively narrower for offering fastening effects.  
         [0027]    The movable lid  60  is provided with a board  61  having a projecting pivotal axis  63  at left and right sides of a rear end thereof, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, when the pivotal axes  63  are placed on the receiving surfaces  55  at the rear sides of the concave body  50 , the pivotal axes  63  function as fulcrums for lifting and closing the movable lid  60 . The board  61  further has a blocking piece  62  extended from two sides of a front end thereof, respectively. The blocking pieces  62  assist a user to apply force and act as points of application of force for lifting and closing the movable lid  60 . More particularly, distances between the pivotal axes  63  functioning as fulcrums and the blocking pieces  62  acting as points of application of force are designed as maximum leverage for application of force, thereby effortlessly lifting and closing the movable lid  60 .  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 6, a rear end face of the board  61  of the movable lid  60  is a structure tilting downward. A purpose of the downwardly tilting structure is for limiting a maximum angle of lifting the movable lid  60  as indicated in FIG. 8. Also, at positions corresponding to the channels  53 , a breadth of the board  61  is disposed with a plurality of terminal grooves  64 . Each terminal groove  64  has a rear end thereof formed as a protruding axis  65  having an ellipsoidal cross section using the tilted structure at the rear end face of the board  61 . Hence, through thinner parts of the ellipsoidal circumscription of the protruding axis  65 , the protruding axis  65  of the movable lid  60  is pressed into an interior of the pivotal gap  76  of the terminal  70 . A long and narrow shape of an opening of the pivotal gap  76  is then utilized such that the protruding axis  65  is unlikely to depart from the interior of the pivotal gap  76 . Referring to FIG. 8, at this point, the movable lid  60  is pivotally joined with the terminal  70  securely fastened within the channel  53  of the concave body  50 , and is also leaned against the receiving surfaces  55  at the rear sides of the concave body  50 . Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when the movable lid  60  rotates regarding the pivotal axes  63  as fulcrums thereof, each protruding axis  65  forms a set of protruding axis mechanism with the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70 . Especially when the movable lid  60  is being closed, displacement of the ellipsoidal circumscription of the protruding axis  65  forces the protruding axis  65  against the bent portion  74  at the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70 . Due to leverage effects, the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70  uses the plate  78  as a fulcrum thereof to press a front portion of the upper pin  71  downward.  
         [0029]    A width of the plate  61  of the movable lid  60  is narrower than that of the upper-tier open space at the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50  but wider than that of the lower-tier open space, and the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70  is located at the upper-tier open space at the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50 . Therefore, referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, when the movable lid  60  is closed, the movable lid  60  seals the upper-tier open space at the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50  by leaning against top portions of the side flanges  52  of the portal slot  51 , and forms a cover of the concave body  50 . In the meanwhile, the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70  is exposed in the terminal groove  64  at the movable lid  60 , and thus completing an ultra-thin structure of the flexible circuit board connector  40 .  
         [0030]    Referring to FIGS.  7  to  10 , to insert the flexible circuit board  90 , the movable lid  60  of the flexible circuit board  90  is lifted to a maximum angle, so as to completely reveal the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50  for facilitating insertion of the flexible circuit board  90 . At this moment, the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70  is withdrawn from reactions of the protruding axis  65  of the movable lid  60 , and the front portion of the upper pin  71  is no longer liable to be pressed downward. Therefore, the flexible circuit board  90  is smoothly entered along the side flanges  52  of the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50 , and is inserted into the inserting gap  75  of the terminal  70 , thereby electrically connecting with the terminal  70 . Next, the movable lid  60  becomes closed in the portal slot  51  of the concave body  50 . Then the protruding axis  65  of the movable lid  60  is acted upon the bent portion  74  of the upper pin  71  of the terminal  70 , and the front portion of the upper pin  71  is pressed downward to lock the flexible circuit board  90 . The flexible circuit board  90  becomes completely electrically connected with the terminal  70 , and is not departed from the flexible circuit board connector  40  according to the invention when being used.  
         [0031]    It is of course to be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that a wide variety of modifications thereto may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.