BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector configured to retain a signal
transmission medium by elastic engagement force of a lock member by inserting a terminal
part of the signal transmission medium to a predetermined position in an insulating
housing.
Description of Related Art
[0002] Generally, in various electrical devices, etc., various electrical connectors are
widely used as means for electrically connecting various signal transmission media
such as flexible printed circuits (FPC) and flexible flat cables (FFC). For example,
in an electrical connector mounted and used on a printed wiring board like below-described
Patent Literature 1, a signal transmission medium composed of, for example, FPC or
FFC is inserted from a front-end-side opening of an insulating housing (insulator)
into the interior thereof, and an actuator (connection operating means) is then turned
by operating force of an operator so as to be pushed down toward a connection working
position in the front side or the rear side of the connector. As a result, part of
a lock member is put into an engaging part provided at a terminal part of the signal
transmission medium to achieve an engaged state, and the terminal part of the signal
transmission medium is configured to be retained in an approximately immobile state
by the lock member.
[0003] In this manner, an electrical connector having an actuator is configured to operate
engagement/detachment of a lock member by carrying out operation to turn the actuator
between a disconnecting position and a connection working position, wherein work efficiency
is sometimes a problem since the actuator has to be operated separately from the operation
to insert the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC, FFC). Therefore, for example,
like below-described Patent Literature 2 and 3, an electrical connector provided with
a so-called one-action automatic locking mechanism configured so that part of a lock
member is elastically displaced so as to be placed over a signal transmission medium
inserted into an insulating housing and that the part of the lock member is then put
into an engaging part of the signal transmission medium to carry out engagement has
been conventionally developed. When an electrical connector provided with such a one-action
automatic locking mechanism is used, a signal transmission medium is retained in an
approximately immobile state only by inserting the signal transmission medium to a
predetermined position in the electrical connector, and work efficiency is improved.
[0004] However, the one-action automatic locking mechanism employed in conventional electrical
connectors has an advantage that locking is carried out only by inserting a signal
transmission medium (for example, FPC, FFC) into the electrical connector as described
above; however, the configuration of a lock cancellation operating part for cancelling
an engaged state of a latch lock part tends to be complex, the cancelling operation
takes labor, and a problem may be caused in usage durability.
Citation List
Patent Literature
[0005]
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-100370
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-231069
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-040246
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector
capable of improving operability and usage durability of a lock cancellation operating
part with a simple configuration.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0007] In order to achieve the above described object, the present invention employs a configuration
in which: an electrical connector configured to be mounted on a wiring board, the
wiring board solder-joined with a board connecting part, the electrical connector
having a latch lock part engaged with a terminal part of a signal transmission medium
inserted in an insulating housing to retain the signal transmission medium in an approximately
immobile state, the electrical connector configured so that the engaged state of the
latch lock part can be cancelled by operating a lock cancellation operating part;
the electrical connector having a lock arm member integrally extending like a cantilever
from the board connecting part and disposed so as to be elastically displaceable;
and the latch lock part and the lock cancellation operating part are elastically displaceably
provided integrally at an intermediate position and a free-end position in an extending
direction of the lock arm member.
[0008] According to the present invention having such a configuration, the board connecting
part, the latch lock part, and the lock cancellation operating part are integrally
provided with the lock arm member. Therefore, the retaining action and the cancelling
action of the inserted signal transmission medium are carried out by operation of
a single member, the structure and operation of the cancellation operating part are
simplified, and usage durability is also improved.
[0009] The lock arm member in the present invention is desired to be bent-formed so as to
be folded back between the board connecting part and the latch lock part.
[0010] According to the invention having such a configuration, even when the electrical
connector is downsized, a sufficient length of the lock arm member can be ensured
in small space, and the operating force of the lock cancellation operating part provided
at the free-end position can be correspondingly suppressed to be small. Also, when
the latch lock part is disposed in the bent-part side, larger retaining force can
be ensured for the latch lock part.
[0011] Moreover, in the present invention, it is desired that electrically-conductive contact
for signal transmission in contact with the terminal part of the signal transmission
medium be attached to the insulating housing; and a board connecting part provided
in the electrically-conductive contact and the board connecting part provided in the
lock arm member be disposed in mutually-opposed both edge parts of the insulating
housing.
[0012] According to the present invention having such a configuration, by virtue of the
board connecting parts disposed at mutually-opposed both edge parts, the entire electrical
connector is fixed in a state that is balanced from both sides, and firm retainability
can be obtained with respect to external force caused by, for example, insertion of
the signal transmission medium.
[0013] Moreover, in the present invention, it is desired that the lock cancellation operating
part be disposed at each of longitudinal-direction both-end parts of the insulating
housing; and cut-away parts for exposing the lock cancellation operating parts to
outside be provided at the longitudinal-direction both-end parts of the insulating
housing.
[0014] According to the present invention having such a configuration, if insertion of the
signal transmission medium is not enough, the lock cancellation operating part, which
is exposed to outside from the cut-away part of the insulating housing when insertion
of the signal transmission medium is carried out well, is maintained in the state
in which the operating part is buried inside of the insulating housing. Therefore,
whether the insertion operation of the signal transmission medium is good or not can
be easily determined.
[0015] As described above, in the electrical connector according to the present invention,
the latch lock part and the lock cancellation operating part are integrally provided
to the elastically-displaceable lock arm member integrally extending like a cantilever
from the board connecting part solder-joined with the wiring board. The board connecting
part, the latch lock part, and the lock cancellation operating part are integrally
provided to the lock arm member so that the retaining action and cancelling action
of the inserted signal transmission medium are carried out by operation of a single
member. Therefore, operability and usage durability of the lock cancellation operating
part can be improved with a simple configuration, and reliability of the electrical
connector can be significantly improved at low cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective explanatory view showing an electrical connector
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan explanatory view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front explanatory view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 and
FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view taken along a line IV-IV in
FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an external perspective explanatory view showing, from a planar side, a
lock member used in the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an external perspective explanatory view showing, from a bottom surface
side, the lock member shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view of a connector-longitudinal-direction
both-end part showing a state immediately before a signal transmission medium is inserted
to the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view of the connector-longitudinal-direction
both-end part showing an intermediate state in which the signal transmission medium
is being inserted into the connector from the state of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which the
signal transmission medium is latched by a latch lock part, wherein the signal transmission
medium has been further inserted from the state shown in FIG. 8, and insertion of
the signal transmission medium with respect to the electrical connector has been completed;
FIG. 10 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which
a cancelling operation has been carried out from the locked state shown in FIG. 9
and the lock member is push down;
FIG. 11 is an external perspective explanatory view showing an electrical connector
according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is an external perspective explanatory view showing, from a planar side, a
lock member used in the electrical connector shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view of a connector-longitudinal-direction
both-end part showing a state in which insertion of a signal transmission medium into
the electrical connector shown in FIG. 11 is started;
FIG. 14 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view of the connector-longitudinal-direction
both-end part showing an intermediate state in which the signal transmission medium
is being inserted into the connector from the state of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which
the signal transmission medium is latched by a latch lock part, wherein the signal
transmission medium has been further inserted from the state shown in FIG. 14, and
insertion of the signal transmission medium with respect to the electrical connector
has been completed; and
FIG. 16 is a transverse cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which
a cancelling operation has been carried out from the locked state shown in FIG. 15,
and the lock member is pushed down.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments in which the present invention is applied to an electrical
connector mounted and used on a wiring board in order to establish electrical connection
of a signal transmission medium composed of, for example, a flexible printed circuit
(FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC) will be explained in detail based on drawings.
[About Overall Configuration of Electrical Connector According to First Embodiment]
[0018] An electrical connector 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention
shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 9 is an electrical connector provided with a one-action automatic
locking mechanism of a so-called non-zif(NON-ZIF) type, which is configured so that
the signal transmission medium F is automatically locked when a terminal part of the
above described signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) is inserted to
a predetermined position in an insulating housing 11 through a medium insertion opening
11a provided at a front-end edge part (left-end edge part of FIG. 4) of the insulating
housing 11.
[About Insulating Housing]
[0019] In this case, the insulating housing 11 is formed of a hollow frame-like insulating
member, which is extended to be thin and narrow. The longitudinal width direction
of the insulating housing 11 will be hereinafter referred to as "connector longitudinal
direction", and the direction for inserting or detaching the terminal part of the
signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F will be referred to as "connector
front-rear direction".
[0020] The medium insertion opening 11a, into which the terminal part of the signal transmission
medium F composed of, for example, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible
flat cable (FFC) as described above is inserted, is provided at a front-end edge part
(left-end edge part in FIG. 4) of the insulating housing 11 so as to be thin and long
along the connector longitudinal direction. Lock members 12, which will be described
later, are attached to both-side outer parts of the medium insertion opening 11a which
are connector-longitudinal-direction both-end parts of the insulating housing 11.
Furthermore, at a rear-end-side part (right-end edge part in FIG. 4) of the insulating
housing 11, in other words, at a part that is in the side opposite to the above described
medium insertion opening 11a in the connector front-rear direction, a part attachment
opening 11b for attaching, for example, electrically-conductive contacts 13 are provided
so as to be thin and long also along the connector longitudinal direction.
[About Electrically-Conductive Contact]
[0021] The electrically-conductive contacts 13 are formed of thin-plate-like metal members
forming appropriate shapes. The plurality of electrically-conductive contacts 13 are
inserted from the part attachment opening 11b in the rear-end side of the insulating
housing 11 toward the front side (left side in FIG. 4) and are disposed like multiple
electrodes with appropriate intervals therebetween in the connector longitudinal direction
in the insulating housing 11. Each of the electrically-conductive contacts 13 is used
for signal transmission or for ground connection in a state in which the electrically-conductive
contact is mounted by solder joining on an electrically conductive path formed on
a main printed wiring board (illustration omitted).
[0022] In other words, the disposed positions of the electrically-conductive contacts 13
attached in the insulating housing 11 in the above described manner are set to correspond
to a wiring pattern provided on the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or
FFC) F, which is inserted to the inner side of the insulating housing 11 through the
medium insertion opening 11a. The wiring pattern provided on the signal transmission
medium F is signal-transmitting electrically-conductive paths (signal-line pads) or
shielding electrically-conductive paths (shield line pads) disposed at appropriate
pitch intervals.
[0023] The configuration of each of the electrically-conductive contacts 13 will be explained
in detail. The electrically-conductive contact 13 is formed so as to extend along
the connector front-rear direction, which is the inserting/removing direction of the
signal transmission medium F (left-right direction in FIG. 4). A part projecting from
a connector rear end part of the insulating housing 11 toward the rear side is formed
as a board connecting part 13a solder-joined with the signal-transmitting electrically-conductive
path (signal-line pad) formed on the main printed wiring board (illustration omitted).
The board connecting part 13a is continued to a flexible arm part 13b, which is composed
of a thin and long beam member extending toward the front side from the board connecting
part 13a via an upper step part.
[0024] More specifically, the flexible arm part 13b is formed to be bent so as to rise approximately
at a right angle at the part continued to the above described board connecting part
13a, is further bent at the rising end approximately at a right angle toward the front
side, and is extending so as to form a cantilever shape along an inner wall surface
of a ceiling plate of the insulating housing 11 in the upper side of the drawing.
In this manner, the flexible arm part 13b provided in the electrically-conductive
contact 13 is configured to be swung about the part continued to the board connecting
part 13a or the vicinity thereof in the top-bottom direction of the paper surface
of FIG. 4.
[0025] At the front-end side extending part (left-ond-side part in FIG. 4) of the flexible
arm part 13b, a terminal contact projecting part 13c is provided so as to form a shape
projecting downward in the drawing to correspond to the signal-transmitting electrically-conductive
path or the shield electrically-conductive path (wiring pattern) formed on the signal
transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F. More specifically, the terminal contact
projecting part 13c provided in the electrically-conductive contact 13 is configured
to have an arrangement relation that it is placed over the wiring pattern provided
on the signal transmission medium F when the signal transmission medium F is inserted
into the insulating housing 11 in the above described manner; and, when the signal
transmission medium F is inserted to a predetermined final position, the terminal
contact projecting part 13c is configured to be brought into contact therewith with
pressure and maintained in an electrically connected state by the elastic force of
the flexible arm part 13b.
[About One-Action Automatic Locking Mechanism]
[0026] The electrical connector 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with
the one-action automatic locking mechanism as described above. As a condition therefor,
particularly as shown in FIG. 1, engagement positioning parts Fa and Fa composed of
cut-away recessed parts are formed at edge parts in width-direction both sides in
the terminal part of the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F. Corresponding
to the engagement positioning parts Fa and Fa provided in the signal transmission
medium F, the pair of lock members 12 and 12 are provided in the electrical connector
10 side. The insertion state of the signal transmission medium F is configured to
be maintained by a latching action (locking action) of the lock members 12 and 12.
[About Lock Members]
[0027] As described above, both of the lock members 12 and 12 are disposed at the connector-longitudinal-direction
both-end parts of the insulating housing 11. When the signal transmission medium (for
example, FPC or FFC) F is inserted into the electrical connector 10, part of each
of the lock members 12, more specifically, a later-described latch lock part 12a is
placed over the surface of the signal transmission medium F; as a result, the lock
member 12 becomes a state in which the lock member is elastically displaced downward;
and, furthermore, when the latch lock part 12a constituting part of the lock member
12 is pushed up toward the interior of the engagement positioning part Fa of the signal
transmission medium F, an engaged state (locked state) is obtained.
[0028] Each of the lock members 12 of this case is composed of an integral bending structure
of a thin-plate metal member particularly as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 and has a
flat-plate-shaped base bottom plate 12b placed on the main wiring board (illustration
omitted). With respect to the base bottom plate 12b, board connecting parts 12c solder-joined
with the main wiring board, the latch lock part 12a which retains the signal transmission
medium F, and a lock cancellation operating part 12e which cancels the engaged state
of the latch lock part 12a are integrally provided. At an edge part of the thin-plate
metal member constituting the lock member 12 like this, two latching pieces 12d and
12d are provided at appropriate positions to project from the lock member 12 to the
connector front direction. When the latching pieces 12d and 12d are press-fitted into
the insulating housing 11, fixation of the lock member 12 is carried out. A fixing
piece 12f is provided to project so as to form a step from an edge part of the base
bottom plate 12b toward the inner side of the connector in the connector longitudinal
direction. When the fixing piece 12f is inserted into the insulating housing 11, positioning
of the lock member 12 in the top-bottom direction is carried out.
[0029] The number of the above described board connecting parts 12c provided for each lock
member 12 is two, and one of the board connecting parts 12c is provided so as to project
from one of the connector-longitudinal-direction both-end parts toward outside. The
other board connecting part 12c is provided so as to project from the connector rear
end part toward the rear. When the board connecting parts 12c are solder-joined with
a conductor part formed on the main wiring board (illustration omitted), mounting
of the electrical connector 10 is carried out.
[0030] From a front-end edge part of the above described base bottom plate 12b, in other
words, from an edge part in the opposite side of the board connecting part 12c provided
in the rear end side, a lock arm member 12g is integrally extending so as to form
a cantilever shape. The lock arm member 12g is formed so as to be continued from the
board connecting part 12c in the rear end side via the base bottom plate 12b, and
two bent parts 12g1 and 12g1 each forming an approximately U-shape in lateral face
are interposed at the part coupled to the base bottom plate 12b. Each of the bent
parts 12g1 is once projected toward the front from a front edge of the above described
base bottom plate 12b and then curved so as to be reversed in the upper side of the
base bottom plate 12b. A main body part of the lock arm member 12g continued from
the bent parts 12g1 is disposed so as to extend obliquely upward toward the connector
rear side. The lock arm member 12g having such a cantilever structure is configured
to be elastically displaceable about the above described bent parts 12g1 and the vicinities
thereof and be swung in the top-bottom direction in the paper surface of FIG. 7.
[0031] At an intermediate position and a free-end position of the above described cantilever-shaped
lock arm member 12g in the extending direction thereof, the latch lock part 12a and
the lock cancellation operating part 12e are integrally provided. Among them, the
latch lock part 12a is composed of a hook-shaped member projecting from an edge part
of the lock arm member 12g and is composed of a plate-like member formed by bending
the connector-inner-side edge part included in the lock arm member 12g so that it
projects upward in an approximately triangular shape. In other words, the latch lock
part 12a is provided with a tilted guiding side which is extending obliquely downward
from an upper-end-side apex part toward the front side.
[0032] The latch lock part 12a having such a configuration is configured to be pushed up
toward the interior of the engagement positioning part Fa by the elastic force of
the lock arm member 12g and obtain an engaged state when the engagement positioning
part Fa provided in the above described signal transmission medium F is disposed at
an immediately-above position; and the inserted state of the signal transmission medium
F is configured to be retained by the engaging force of the latch lock part 12a generated
when the mating state is obtained.
[0033] On the other hand, the lock cancellation operating part 12e is composed of a plate-like
member formed by bending the free-end part of the lock arm member 12g and having an
approximately rectangular shape in a plane, and the lock cancellation operating part
12e is continuously provided so as to project to the upper side via a projected step
part formed in the rear side of the above described latch lock part 12a. When a finger
tip of an operator is placed on a flat-surface part of the lock cancellation operating
part 12e and presses it downward, the latch lock part 12a is configured to be elastically
displaced downward together with the above described lock arm member 12g.
[0034] In this case, cut-away parts 11c formed so as to cut-away upper surface parts of
the insulating housing 11 in approximately rectangular shapes from the rear side are
provided at connector-longitudinal-direction both-end parts of the insulating housing
11. The lock cancellation operating part 12e in an initial state, in which the operating
part is not pushed down, is configured to project upward from the upper surface part
of the insulating housing 11 through the cut-away part 11c and be visually checked.
[0035] The state from insertion to engagement of the signal transmission medium (for example,
FPC or FFC) F will be explained in detail. First, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, when
the signal transmission medium F is inserted into the insulating housing 11 through
the medium insertion opening 11a of the insulating housing 11, an inserting-side distal-end
edge part of the signal transmission medium F abuts the tilted guiding side of the
latch lock part 12a provided in the lock member 12, and the latch lock part 12a is
placed over the surface of the signal transmission medium F. As a result, the lock
arm member 12g of the lock member 12 is elastically displaced about the bent parts
12g1 and a swing pivotal point in the vicinity thereof so as to be pushed down to
the lower side. When the terminal part of the signal transmission medium F is further
pushed in toward the rear side in this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the latch lock part
12a is moved by the elastic returning force of the lock arm member 12g so as to be
pushed up into the engagement positioning part Fa of the signal transmission medium
F when the engagement positioning part Fa of the signal transmission medium F is moved
to the position immediately above the latch lock part 12a. As a result, the latch
lock part 12a obtains an engaged state with respect to the engagement positioning
part Fa of the signal transmission medium F, and the signal transmission medium F
is maintained so as not to be removed.
[0036] In the intermediate state before the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC
or FFC) F is caused to be in the engaged state (locked state) by the lock member 12
in this manner, the lock arm member 12g including the above described latch lock part
12a is elastically displaced so as to be pushed downward. In this process, the lock
cancellation operating part 12e is stored from the upper-surface part of the insulating
housing 11 into the connector through the cut-away part 11c so that the downward elastic
displacement of the lock arm member 12g can be checked. Then, when the signal transmission
medium F becomes the state in which the medium is caused to be in the engaged state
(locked state) by the lock member 12, the lock cancellation operating part 12e, which
has been previously dropped in the insulating housing 11, is configured to project
again upward from the upper surface of the insulating housing 11 through the cut-away
part 11c and be visually checked.
[0037] On the other hand, when a lock cancelling operation is carried out by pushing down
the lock cancellation operating part 12e as shown in FIG. 10 in the state in which
the latch lock part 12a is engaged with the engagement positioning part Fa of the
signal transmission medium F to retain the signal transmission medium F in the above
described manner, the latch lock part 12a is moved downward against the elastic force
of the lock arm member 12g, the latch lock part 12a is detached from the engagement
positioning part Fa of the signal transmission medium F, and the engaged state (locked
state) of the lock member 12 is cancelled.
[0038] According to the lock member 12 according to the present embodiment having such a
configuration, the board connecting part 12c, the latch lock part 12a, and the lock
cancellation operating part 12e are integrally provided to the lock arm member 12g;
therefore, the retaining action and the cancelling action of the inserted signal transmission
medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F are carried out by the operations of a single member.
Therefore, the structure and operation of the lock member 12 including the lock cancellation
operating part 12e are simplified, and usage durability is also improved.
[0039] Particularly, the lock arm member 12g in the present embodiment has the bent parts
12g1, which are bent-formed so as to be folded back between the board connecting part
12c and the latch lock part 12a. Therefore, even when the entire electrical connector
10 is downsized, a sufficient length of the lock arm members 12g can be ensured in
small space, and the operating force of the lock cancellation operating part 12e provided
at the free-end position can be correspondingly suppressed to be small. Also, when
the latch lock part 12a is disposed to be close to the bent parts 12g1, larger retaining
force can be ensured for the latch lock part 12a.
[0040] Until the retained state is obtained after the signal transmission medium (for example,
FPC or FFC) F is inserted, the lock cancellation operating part 12e is moved together
with the latch lock part 12a between a state in which thy are exposed to outside from
the cut-away part 11c of the insulating housing 11 and an inside buried state. The
cut-away part 11c from which the lock cancellation operating part 12e is exposed to
outside is provided in the insulating housing 11. Therefore, if insertion of the signal
transmission medium F is not enough, the lock cancellation operating part 12e is maintained
in the state in which the operating part is buried inside of the cut-away part 11c
of the insulating housing 11, and whether the insertion operation of the signal transmission
medium F is good or not can be easily determined.
[Electrical Connector According to Second Embodiment]
[0041] On the other hand, an electrical connector 20 according to a second embodiment of
the present invention shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 16, in which the constituent members
which are the same as those of the above described first embodiment are denoted by
the same reference numerals, has a structure in which each of lock members 22 is formed
by appropriately bending a linearly-extending belt-like member. A lock arm member
22g extending to the rear side from a board connecting part 22c disposed in a front-end
part is extending to a lock cancellation operating part 22e disposed in a free-end
edge part in the rear side so as to form a belt-like shape having an approximately
constant width.
[0042] Also, at an intermediate position of the extending direction in the lock arm member
22g as described above, a latch lock part 22a corresponding to the engagement positioning
part Fa of the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F is provided.
The latch lock part 22a in the present embodiment is disposed so as to extend obliquely
upward to the rear side of the above described board connecting part 22c via an upper
step part and is configured to be bent-formed to form an approximately triangular
shape in a lateral face.
[0043] As described above in the present embodiment, the board connecting part 22c provided
in the front-end part of the lock arm member 22g is disposed in a connector front-end
edge part and is disposed in the opposite side of the board connecting part 13a of
the electrically-conductive contact 13. In other words, by virtue of such an arrangement
relation, the board connecting parts 13c provided in the electrically-conductive contacts
13 and board connecting parts 22c provided in the lock arm members 22g are disposed
in mutually-opposed both edge parts of the insulating housing 11. Since both of the
board connecting parts 13a and 22c are disposed in the mutually-opposed both edge
parts of the insulating housing 11, the entire electrical connector 10 is fixed in
a state that is balanced from both sides, and firm retainability can be obtained with
respect to external force caused by, for example, insertion of the signal transmission
medium.
[0044] Furthermore, the lock cancellation operating part 22e in the present embodiment is
formed of a plate-like member continuously provided via an upper-side projected step
part disposed in a free-end side of the lock arm member 22g. Corresponding to the
lock cancellation operating part 22e as described above, a pair of lock operation
cover parts 11d and 11d are provided at connector-longitudinal-direction both-end
parts in rear end parts of the insulating housing 11. At a position immediately above
the lock cancellation operating part 22e provided in the lock member 22, each of the
lock operation cover part 11d is extending from the rear end part of the insulating
housing 11 to the rear so that an arrangement relation overlapped with the lock cancellation
operating part 22e is obtained. Each of the lock operation cover parts 11d is formed
of a comparatively-wide plate-like member, and the comparatively-wide lock operation
cover part 11d is in an arrangement relation so as to cover, from the upper side,
the upper surface of the lock cancellation operating part 22e having a narrow plate
thickness.
[0045] An irregular-shaped anti-slipping part is formed on the upper surface of the lock
operation cover part 11d as described above. When the lock operation cover part 11d
is pushed downward, for example, by a finger tip of an operator, the lock cancellation
operating part 22e of the above described lock member 22 is similarly pushed downward,
and, as a result, the lock arm member 22g and the latch lock part 22a continued to
the lock cancellation operating part 22e are pushed downward. As a result, the latch
lock part 22a, which has been previously engaged with the engagement positioning part
Fa of the signal transmission medium (for example, FPC or FFC) F is detached downward
from the engagement positioning part Fa, and the signal transmission medium F becomes
a free state to become a state in which the medium can be removed toward the front
side.
[0046] Hereinabove, the invention accomplished by the present inventor has been explained
in detail based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited
to the above described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications
can be made within a range not departing from the gist thereof.
[0047] For example, in the above described embodiments, flexible printed circuits (FPC)
and flexible flat cables (FFC) are employed as the signal transmission media to be
fixed to the electrical connector. However, the present invention can be similarly
applied also to the case in which other signal transmission media, etc. are used.
[0048] Furthermore, the electrically-conductive contacts having a single shape are used
in the electrical connector according to the above described embodiments. However,
the present invention can be similarly applied also to a structure in which electrically-conductive
contacts having mutually different shapes are alternately disposed.
[0049] The present invention can be widely applied to various electrical connectors used
in various electrical devices.
Reference Signs List