Abstract:
A flat circuit board electrical connector includes a housing ( 20 ); a plurality of flat terminals supported having a pair of support sections ( 14, 16 ), a movable member ( 40 ) having a cam shaft ( 44 ), wherein when said movable member ( 40 ) is at said open position, said cam shaft ( 44 ) is inserted into a space between said support sections ( 14, 16 ); an engaging edge ( 16 B) is provided at least one of said support sections ( 16 ) to engage with said cam shaft ( 44 ); a regulation metal fittings ( 30 ) provided in parallel with said terminals; a regulated island ( 45 ) provided on said movable member ( 40 ); a regulation arm ( 33 ) provided on said regulation metal fittings ( 30 ) to regulate said regulated island ( 45 ) of said movable member ( 40 ) such that said cam shaft ( 44 ) is engaged with said engaging edge ( 16 B).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to flat circuit board electrical connectors. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   The conventional flat circuit boards include flexible print circuit (FPC) boards and flat cables. JP 11-031561 discloses an electrical connector for connecting such a flat circuit board to another circuit board or the like. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the electrical connector of the above reference includes a housing  52  and a plurality of flat terminals  51  supported by the housing  52 . The terminal  51  has a substantially H-shaped form that has upper and lower arms linked at a midpoint such that the upper arm is able to swing at the midpoint. The upper arm has a support section  54 A on the right side of the midpoint  53  and, on the left side, a contact section  54 B with a contact projection  54 C. The lower arm has a support section  55 A on the right side of the midpoint  53  and, on the left side, a fixing section  55 D with a projection  55 C. 
   A channel  56  is provided in the housing  52  to receive the terminal  51  from the right side. All the channels  56  are communicated by left and right side openings  57  and  58  of the housing  52 . A flat circuit board is inserted into a space between the contact sections  54 B and the fixing sections  55 D through the left side opening  57 . A movable member  59  is supported in the right side opening  58  for rotation. The movable member  59 A is made of an insulative material so as to have an operational section  59 A, a shaft section  59 B, and a pressure section  59 C. The operational section  59 A projects from the housing  52  through the right side opening  58 . The shaft section  59 B has a semi-circular cross-section and supported by the support section  55 A of the lower arm. When the movable member  59  is turned clockwise to the closed position, the pressure section  59 C pushes up the support section  54 A of the terminal  51 . 
   A pair of stud portions  59 D extends outward from the opposite sides of the movable member  59  along the center line of the shaft section  59 B. When the movable member  59  is rotated, the stud portions  59 D are rotatably supported along with the shaft section  59 B. A tapered indentation  61  and a stepped indentation  62  are provided in the inside of a side wall  60  of the housing, and a slit  64  is provided in a top wall  63  adjacent to another side wall  60 , allowing the side wall  60  to flex outward. The movable member  59  is attached to the housing  52  from right side such that the stud portion  59  passes over the tapered indentation  61  and snaps in the stepped indentation  62 , providing resistance to accidental separation. 
   In the connector of the above Patent reference, the stud portions snap in the stepped indentations to prevent separation of the movable member. When the number of terminals is large, however, the movable member becomes so wide that it becomes susceptible to warping under external forces, causing separation of the movable member, resulting in contact failure between the terminal and the flat circuit board. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a flat circuit board electrical connector capable of preventing separation of the movable member for a large number of terminals. 
   According to the invention there is provided a flat circuit board electrical connector includes a housing; a plurality of flat terminals supported by the housing at regular intervals in a first direction perpendicular to the flat terminals and having a linking section, a pair of support arms linked by the linking section, and at least one contact arm extending from the linking arm in an opposite direction to the support arms, a movable member for increasing a contact pressure between the contact arm and a flat circuit board inserted into a contact position; a cam portion provided on the movable member between the support arms; the movable member movable between an open position where the movable member permits insertion of the flat circuit board and a closed position where the pressure contact is increased, wherein when the movable member is at the open position, the cam portion is able to be inserted into a space between the support arms; an engaging portion is provided at least one of the support arms to engage with the cam portion; a regulation metal fittings provided in parallel with the terminals; a regulated portion provided on the movable member at a position corresponding to the regulation metal fittings; a regulation arm provided on the regulation metal fittings to regulate the regulated portion of the movable member such that the cam portion is engaged with the engaging portion. 
   According to the invention, the cam portion and the regulated portion are in the same rotary axis and the terminals and the regulation metal fittings regulate the cam portion and the regulated portion from both sides so that the movable member does not shift from the engagement with the engaging portion, thus preventing separation of the movable member. The cam portion of the movable member is smaller than a distance between the support arms at the open position of the movable member and larger than the distance at the closed position so that not only the insertion is made easy but also a satisfactory pressure is applied to the flat circuit board at the closed position. 
   The engaging portion is formed as an engaging recess in the support arm. The cam portion is brought to the engaging recess and regulated by the regulated metal fittings, thus preventing from coming off from the engaging recess. The regulation arm extends along the other support arm of the terminal. The regulation metal fittings is inserted into the housing in the opposite direction to the terminals so that the regulation arm and the support arms are situated on opposite sides of the rotary axis. The regulation metal fittings has a fixing leg projecting from a bottom of the housing. The fixing leg is soldered to the flat circuit board, increasing the retention power of the connector to the circuit board. 
   According to the invention, the regulation metal fittings is added to the terminal arrangement such that both the terminals and the regulation metal fittings support and regulate the rotary center of the movable member so that the rotary section does not come off from the engaging portion upon accidental application of an external force. Even if there is a large number of terminals, a single regulation metal fittings is provided at a middle position to prevent separation without failure. The regulation metal fittings is made of the same metal sheet as the terminals so that the connector is enlarged only by the thickness of the regular metal fittings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1(A)  is a sectional view taken at a terminal position of a connector where no regulation metal fittings is attached and a movable member is being assembled according to an embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 1(B)  is a sectional view of the connector taken at the position where a regulation metal fittings is to be attached; 
       FIG. 2(A)  is a sectional view taken at the terminal position of the connector where a regulation metal fittings has been attached and the movable member is at the open position; 
       FIG. 2(B)  is a sectional view taken at the regulation metal fittings; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective sectional view of a conventional connector; and 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the connector of  FIG. 4 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In  FIG. 1(A) , a housing  20  made of an insulative material supports a flat terminal  10 . The flat terminal  10  is made by stamping a sheet metal so as to have a substantially H-shaped form that has parallel upper and lower arms  11  and  12  and a linking section  13  for linking them as a unit. The upper arm  11  has an upper support section  14  and an upper contact section  15  on right and left sides of the linking section  13 . The lower arm  12  has a lower support section  16  and a lower contact section  17  on right and left sides of the linking section  13 . 
   The upper support section  14  has a downward bearing recess  14 A near the right side rear end and the upper contact section  15  has a downward contact projection  15 A at the left side front end. The lower support section  16  has an upward recess  16 A from which a connection section  18  extends to the right beyond the housing  20 . The upward recess  16 A has an arc-shaped engaging edge  16 B on the right side which is opposed to the bearing recess  14 A of the upper support section  14 . The width of the upward recess  16 A is made slightly greater than the distance between the engaging edge  16 B and the bearing recess  14 A. The connection section  18  project from the housing  20  and extends downward slightly beyond the bottom surface of the housing  20  so that the lower edge  18 A of the connection section  18  comes to contact with the corresponding circuit section of a circuit board for soldering. An attaching recess  18 B is provided on the connection section  18  to receive the bottom end of the housing  20 . The lower contact section  17  has an upward contact projection  17 A at its front end and an upward fixing projection  17 B near the linking section  13 . 
   A plurality of the terminals  10  are press fitted in terminal slots  21  provided in the housing  20  at regular intervals in the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet. The terminal slots  21  communicate with each other on the left and right sides to form left and right openings  22  and  23 . The left opening  22  receives a flat circuit board between the upper and lower contact sections  15  and  17  while the right opening  23  receives the upper support section  14  and a portion of the movable member  20 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 1(B) , a metal-fittings slot  24  is provided in the housing  20  outside the outermost terminal  10  for receiving metal fittings. The metal-fittings slot  24  communicates with the left and right openings  22  and  23 . A cutout portion  24 A is provided in the left bottom wall of the housing  20  for allowing metal fittings to enter the housing  20 . A step-down portion  25  is provided on the bottom wall of the housing  20  at a position corresponding to the right opening  23 . The step-down portion  25  is formed in the range including the support recess  16 A of the lower support section  16 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 2(   b ), a regular metal fittings  30  is inserted into the metal-fitting slot  24  of the housing  20  from left or in the opposite direction that the terminal  10  is inserted. This flat regular metal fittings  30  is made by stamping so as to have a base section  31 , a fixing arm  32 , and a regulation arm  33 . The base section  31  extends downward through the cutout portion  24 A and project slightly from the housing  20 , forming a fixing leg  31 A. 
   The fixing arm  32  has engaging projections  32 A and  32 B on its lower edge so that when it is press fitted, the engaging projections  32 A and  32 B cut into the bottom wall of the housing  20  for preventing the metal fittings  30  to come off. The regulation arm  33  is narrower than the fixing arm  32  and extends into the right opening  23  to the position almost the same position of the upper support section  14  of the terminal  10  as viewed in the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet. Also, the lower edge  33 A of the regulation arm  33  is level with the lower edge of the upper support section  14 . 
   The movable member  40  is made of an insulative material so as to serve as a lever. It has a lower section placed in the right opening  23  of the housing  20  and an upper section or operation section  41  that projects upward from the housing  20  at the open position. Slots  42  and  43  are provided in the lower section of the movable member  40  at positions corresponding to the terminal slots  21  and metal fittings slot  24 , respectively, to receive the upper support arm  14  of the terminal  10  and the regulation arm  33  of the regulating metal fittings  30 , respectively. A cam shaft  44  and a regulated island  45  are provided in the lower right corners of the slots  42  and  43 , respectively. Rotation centers  44 A and  45 A are provided at the same positions in the cam shaft  44  and the regulated island  45 , respectively. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1(A) , the cam island  44  has an elongated circular cross-section, with the right side arc having a radius substantially equal to that of the engaging edge  16 B of the lower support arm  16  and the left side arc having a radius substantially equal to that of the bearing recess  14 A of the upper support arm  14 . In this embodiment, the radius of these four arcs are substantially equal. The height of the cam island  44  is less than the space between the straight lower edge of the upper support arm  14  and the upper edge of the engaging edge  16 B of the lower support arm  16  so that the cam island  44  can enter in the space between the upper support arm  14  and the lower support arm  16  in the A direction. The width of the cam island  44  is greater than the distance between the bearing recess  14 A of the upper support arm  14  and the engaging edge  16 B of the lower support arm  16  so that when the movable member is turned into the closed position, the cam island  44  pushes up the upper support arm  14  for warping or flexing. 
   The regulated island  45  has a substantially square cross-section with upper left and lower right rounded corners. As shown in  FIG. 2(B) , the height and width of the regulated island  45  are substantially equal to the distance between the lower edge  33 A of the regulation arm  33  and the step-down section  25  of the housing  20  so that when the island  45  is rotated, the upper left rounded corner makes the rotation smooth and, at any rotation angle, the lower edge  33 A of the regulation arm  33  is in contact with or adjacent to the regulated island  45 . The upper right and lower left corners are not rounded so as to work as a stopper to stop the rotation beyond a predetermined angle. 
   The connector is assembled and used as follows. 
   (1) As shown in  FIG. 1(A) , a plurality of terminals  10  are inserted into the terminal slots  21  of the housing  20  through the right opening  23 . The fixing projection  17 B of the lower contact arm  17  cuts into the fixing portion of the housing and the attaching recess  18 B of the connection section  18  is fitted over the bottom wall of the housing  20  to keep the terminal  10  in place. 
   (2) Then, the movable member  40  is assembled as shown in  FIG. 1(A)  by moving the cam island  44  into a space between the upper support arm  14  and the lower support arm  16  in the right opening  23  in the A direction. At this point, as shown in  FIG. 1(B) , the regulated island  45  is moved in the A direction. 
   (3) In  FIGS. 1(A)  and (B), the cam island  44  and the regulated island  45  are at upward positions. Then, the cam island  44  and the regulated island  45  are moved downward in the B direction such that the cam island  44  is received by the receiving recess  16 A of the terminal  10 , with its lower right portion engaging with the engaging edge  16 B, while the regulated island  45  abuts on the step-down section  25  of the housing  20 . Since the cam island  44  engages with the engaging edge  16 B, the movable member  40  is preventing from coming off in the right direction. However, if the cam island  44  and the regulated island  45  can be lifted up in the B direction, the movable member  40  can be pulled off in the reversed A direction without difficulty. 
   (4) As shown in  FIG. 2(B) , after the cam island  44  and the regulated island  45  are moved downward, the regulation metal fittings  30  is inserted into the metal fitting slot  24  through the left opening  22  in the C direction such that the base section  31  is situated in the left opening  22 , with the fixing leg  31 A projects downward from the housing  20 . The fixing arm  32  is press fitted into a space between the upper and lower walls of the housing  20  such that the engaging projections  32 A and  32 B cut into the lower wall to prevent separation of the regulating metal fittings  30 . The lower edge  33 A of the regulation arm  33  is in contact with or adjacent to the upper edge of the regulated island  45  of the movable member  40 , thus preventing the regulated island  45  from being lifted up. Consequently, the movable member  40  does not come off from the housing, completing the assembling of the connector. 
   (5) Then, the connector is attached to a circuit board by soldering the lower edge  18 A of the connection section  18  and the fixing leg  31 A of the regulation metal fittings  30  before a flat circuit board, such as a flexible circuit board, is connected. 
   (6) Finally, the flat circuit board is inserted into a space between the upper and lower contact arms  15  and  17  through the left opening  22  and, then, the movable member  40  is turned to the closed position such that the cam island  44  is guided by the engaging edge  16 B of the terminal  10  so as to lift up the upper support arm  14  while the regulated island is guided by the regulation arm  33  and the step-down section  25  of the housing  20 . Consequently, the upper support arm  15  is flexed downward at the linking section  13 , thus pressing with the contact portion  15 A the flat circuit board against the contact portion  17 A of the lower contact arm  17 . As a result, the flat circuit board is brought into contact with the terminal  10  via at least one of the contact portions  15 A and  17 A and electrically connected to the circuit board. 
   The present invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and a variety of its modifications are possible. 
   For example, the regulation arm of a regulation metal fittings may be spaced from the regulated island to such an extent that the cam island does not come off from the engaging edge. The cam island may take an eccentric circular cam form. The regulation metal fittings may be moved up or down after lateral insertion to fit into a slot of the housing. The regulation metal fittings may be bent in part for improving the strength. The regulation metal fittings may be provided in the range of arranging terminals.