Patent Publication Number: US-9413105-B2

Title: Carrier for flexible printed circuit

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to flexible printed circuits (FPCs), and more particularly to a carrier to connect an FPC to a printed circuit board (PCB). 
     BACKGROUND 
     Flexible printed circuits (FPCs) are used in a variety of electronic devices. The FPCs can be connected to printed circuit boards (PCBs) of the electronic devices. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier and a printed circuit board (PCB). 
         FIG. 2  is an assembled view of the carrier and the PCB. 
         FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 2 , but shows a disassembly process of the carrier from the PCB. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein, However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure. 
     Definitions that apply throughout the disclosure will now be presented. 
     The references “a plurality of” and “a number of” mean “at least two.” The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series, and the like. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example embodiment of a carrier  20  for a flexible printed circuit (FPC)  30 . The FPC  30  can be located on the carrier  20 . The carrier  20  can be secured to a printed circuit board (PCB)  10  to electrically connect the FPC  30  to the PCB  10 . In at least one embodiment, the carrier  20  is not made of metal to prevent signal interference between the carrier  20  and electronic components, such as an antenna. In at least one embodiment, the carrier  20  is made of plastic. 
     The carrier  20  can include a main body  210  and a plurality of contacting members  230 . In at least one embodiment, there are two contacting members  230  extending from the main body  210 . A first contacting member  230  can extend from an upper portion of the main body  210 , and a second contacting member  230  can extend from a lower portion of the main body  210 . A portion of the FPC  30  can be located on a bottom surface of the first contacting member  230 , and another portion of the FPC  30  can be located on a top surface of the second contacting member  230 . 
     A plurality of resilient latching members  220  can extend from the main body  210  of the carrier  20 . In at least one embodiment, there are two latching members  220 . A first latching member  220  can extend from the upper portion of the main body  210 , and a second latching member  220  can extend from the lower portion of the main body  210 . Each latching member  220  can include a latching portion  2201  and a hooked portion  2202 . The latching portion  2201  can extend from the main body  210 , and the hooked portion  2202  can extend from the latching portion  2201 . In at least one embodiment, a distance between the two latching portions  2201  is substantially equal to a thickness of the PCB  10 . In at least one embodiment, the first contacting member  230  and the second latching member  220  can be located adjacent to one side of the main body  210 , and the second contacting member  230  and the first latching member  220  can be located adjacent to another side of the main body  210 . 
     The PCB  10  can include a plurality of elastic pieces  110  corresponding to the plurality of contacting members  230 . In at least one embodiment, there are two elastic pieces  110 . A first elastic piece  110  is located on a top surface of the PCB  10 , and a second elastic piece  110  is located on a bottom surface of the PCB  10 . 
     The PCB  10  can define a plurality of holes  120  corresponding to the plurality of latching members  220 . In at least one embodiment, the PCB  10  defines two holes  120 , and each hole  120  is a through hole. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates assembly of the carrier  20  to the PCB  10 . The latching members  220  can be deformed to allow the hooked portions  2202  to insert through the corresponding holes  120  of the PCB  10 . After the hooked portions  2202  insert through the corresponding holes  120 , the latching members  220  can restore to latch a corresponding portion of the PCB  10  between the two latching portions  2201 . Thus, the carrier  20  can be firmly secured to the PCB  10 . 
     When the carrier  20  is secured to the PCB  10 , the first elastic piece  110  contacts the portion of the FPC  30  located on the bottom surface of the first contacting member  230 , and the second elastic piece  110  contacts the portion of the FPC  30  located on the top portion of the second contacting member  230 . The elastic pieces  110  can electrically connect the FPC  30  to the PCB  10 . Furthermore, the carrier  20  is firmly secured to the PCB  10  such that the carrier  20  is prevented from moving relative to the PCB  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , to remove the carrier  20  from the PCB  10 , the latching members  220  are deformed to remove the hooked portions  2202  from the corresponding holes  120 . Thus, disassembly of the carrier  20  from the PCB  10  is convenient. 
     In another embodiment, the holes  120  can be blind holes, such that a first hole  120  is defined in the top surface of the PCB  10 , and a second hole  120  is defined in the bottom surface of the PCB  10 . The hooked portion of the first latching member  220  can insert into the first hole  120 , and the hooked portion of the second latching member  220  can insert into the second hole  120 . 
     In the present disclosure, the carrier  20  can be secured to the PCB  10  easily by the latching members  220 . Thus, additional securing components, such as screws, are not needed. Because the carrier  20  is not made of metal and does not require other metal components to be secured to the PCB  10 , signal interference between the carrier  20  and electronic components, such as an antenna, is prevented. 
     The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Many details are often found in the art. Therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, including in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.