Self-locking buckle and FFC connector female seat

Abstract

The utility model provides a self-locking buckle and an FFC connector female seat, and the buckle comprises an installation part which is used for being installed on the FFC connector female seat; the unlocking part is connected with the mounting part through an elastic part; the locking part is connected with the unlocking part through a connecting part, an arc-shaped protruding part is formed on the bottom face of the locking part through a semi-shearing punching technology, one end of the arc-shaped protruding part is a connecting end, the connecting end is connected with the locking part, the other end of the arc-shaped protruding part is a locking plane, and the locking plane is provided with a locking groove. And the unlocking part is used for unlocking the FFC connector male head inserted into the FFC connector female seat by moving down the locking plane. According to the connector, the locking reliability can be guaranteed, meanwhile, the size of the connector is remarkably reduced, the mold forming difficulty and the production cost are reduced, and the requirements of modern electronic equipment for connector miniaturization, high reliability and low cost are met.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of FFC connector, in particular to a self-locking buckle and a female seat of FFC connector. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of electronic devices towards light and thin, small and high integration, higher requirements are put forward for the size and performance of internal connectors. As an important electronic connection component, FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) connector is widely used in consumer electronic products such as smart phones, tablet computers, notebook computers and wearable devices, etc., for realizing signal transmission between circuit board and display screen, sensor and other modules.

[0003] In the prior art, the locking structure of FFC connector usually adopts rear cover type or high buckle type design to realize the fixation and locking of FFC flat cable. However, the traditional design has the following technical problems:

[0004] 1. Large size, low space utilization: The rear cover type and high buckle type locking structure need additional space to accommodate the locking mechanism, which increases the thickness and width size of the connector. For example, the locking structure of traditional FFC connector usually needs high locking height and large width reserved size, which not only increases the overall size of the connector, but also limits its application in compact electronic devices.

[0005] 2. High mold forming difficulty, low yield: In the traditional design, the locking part usually adopts bending or protrusion forming process. The bending process needs high locking height and long reserved size, which leads to high mold forming difficulty, and in actual production, design deviation is easy to occur, which is difficult to ensure the forming precision and stability. The protrusion forming process, but because the protrusion is non-planar, the contact with the male head of FFC connector is not sufficient, which is easy to cause locking not firm or loose problem, affecting the stability and reliability of signal transmission.

[0006] 3. High production cost: The rear cover type and high buckle type locking structure need additional parts and complex assembly steps, which increases the production cost and assembly difficulty. At the same time, the bending and protrusion forming process requires high mold precision, which further increases the production cost. CONTENT OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The purpose of the present application is to provide a self-locking buckle and a female seat of FFC connector, which can significantly reduce the size of the connector while ensuring the locking reliability, reduce the mold forming difficulty and production cost, to meet the needs of modern electronic devices for small size, high reliability and low cost of connector.

[0008] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following technical scheme:

[0009] A self-locking buckle for an FFC connector female seat, comprising: a mounting portion for mounting on the FFC connector female seat; an unlocking portion connected to the mounting portion through an elastic portion; a locking portion connected to the unlocking portion through a connecting portion, the bottom surface of the locking portion is formed into an arc-shaped protrusion through a half-cutting process, one end of the arc-shaped protrusion is a connecting end connected to the locking portion, and the other end of the arc-shaped protrusion is a locking flat surface, and the unlocking portion unlocks a male head of an FFC connector inserted into the FFC connector female seat by moving the locking flat surface downward.

[0010] Further, the upper surface of the arc-shaped protrusion is an arc surface.

[0011] Further, the mounting portion is a grounding sheet.

[0012] Further, the elastic portion is in an arc-shaped curved shape.

[0013] Further, the mounting portion comprises a horizontal grounding main body portion, a vertical portion extending vertically upward from one side of the horizontal grounding main body portion, and a second horizontal portion extending horizontally leftward from the upper side of the vertical portion.

[0014] Further, the horizontal grounding main body portion is provided with a first protrusion.

[0015] Further, the left side surface of the vertical portion is provided with a second protrusion.

[0016] Further, the rear side of the vertical portion extends rearward to form a buckle portion.

[0017] The application also provides an FFC connector female seat, comprising: a plastic main body and a self-locking buckle, the self-locking buckle is respectively mounted in the buckle mounting grooves on both sides of the plastic main body.

[0018] The application has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] (1) The self-locking buckle of the application optimizes the locking structure and removes the additional space required by the traditional rear cover type or high buckle type design. The arc-shaped protrusion formed by the half-cutting process of the locking portion greatly reduces the thickness and width size of the connector while maintaining the locking function. This design makes the FFC connector female seat more suitable for the needs of compact electronic devices, improves the space utilization, and provides strong support for the lightweight and small-sized design of electronic devices.

[0020] (2) The traditional locking part adopts a bending or protrusion forming process, which has the problems of high difficulty in mold forming and easy design deviation. The self-locking buckle of the present application forms an arc-shaped protruding part through a half-cutting process, which is relatively simple and has lower requirements for mold precision, thereby reducing the difficulty of mold forming. At the same time, the design of the arc-shaped protruding part ensures sufficient contact with the male head of the FFC connector, reduces the risk of loose locking or loosening, improves the forming precision and stability, and thus improves the yield.

[0021] (3) The traditional rear cover type and high buckle type locking structure requires additional components and complex assembly steps, increasing the production cost and assembly difficulty. The self-locking buckle of the present application simplifies the structure, reduces the number of components, and simplifies the assembly steps, thereby reducing the production cost. At the same time, the half-cutting process has lower requirements for mold precision compared to the bending and protrusion forming process, which further reduces the mold manufacturing cost and maintenance cost.

[0022] (4) The self-locking buckle of the present application realizes close contact and reliable locking with the male head of the FFC connector through the design of the arc-shaped protruding part. The unlocking part unlocks the inserted male head of the FFC connector by moving the locking plane downward, which is simple to operate and firmly locked. This design effectively avoids the problem of loose locking or loosening that may occur in traditional locking structures, improves the stability and reliability of signal transmission, and ensures the normal operation of electronic equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 The structure schematic diagram of the FFC connector male head A and the FFC connector female seat B before being plugged in is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 2 The structure schematic diagram of the FFC connector male head A and the FFC connector female seat B after being plugged in is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 3 The structure schematic diagram of the self-locking buckle and the FFC connector female seat B after being separated is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 4 The structure schematic diagram of the self-locking buckle is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 5 The structure schematic diagram of the self-locking buckle from another perspective is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 6 The structure schematic diagram of the self-locking buckle of the FFC connector male head A and the FFC connector female seat B before being plugged in is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 7The structure schematic diagram of the FFC connector male head A and the FFC connector female seat B after the self-locking buckle is inserted is provided for an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Explanation of reference signs:

[0031] A, FFC connector male head; B, FFC connector female seat; C, self-locking buckle; D, plastic main body;

[0032] 1, mounting part; 2, unlocking part; 3, locking part; 4, elastic part; 5, connecting part;

[0033] 31, arc-shaped convex part; 32, locking plane;

[0034] 11, horizontal ground main body part; 12, vertical part; 13, second horizontal part; 14, first convex part; 15, second convex part; 16, buckle part;

[0035] A1, buckle mounting groove; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain the present application and are not configured to limit the present application. The present application can be implemented without some of these specific details by those skilled in the art. The following description of the embodiments is only to provide a better understanding of the present application by showing examples of the present application.

[0037] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, and the like, are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action, without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without more limitations, an element defined by the statement "comprising" does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0038] It should be understood that when describing the structure of a component, when a layer, a region is referred to as being located "on" or "above" another layer, another region, it can mean being directly above the other layer, another region, or containing other layers or regions between it and the other layer, another region. And if the component is turned over, the layer, the region will be located "under" or "below" the other layer, another region.

[0039] It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0040] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the structure schematic diagram of the FFC connector male head A and the FFC connector female seat B before and after plugging, when plugged, the FFC connector male head A needs to be locked, the locking structure of the traditional FFC connector often adopts the rear cover type or the high buckle type design, but there are many problems: large size, low space utilization, because it needs additional space to accommodate the locking mechanism; high difficulty in mold forming, low yield, because the locking part is often formed by bending or protruding, it is easy to design deviation and insufficient contact; high production cost, because additional parts and complex assembly steps are needed, and the mold precision is high.

[0041] In addition, in the present application, the overall size of the FFC connector female seat B is about 22mm in length and about 6mm in width, and the width of the locking part is only about 0.5mm. Such a super-narrow width locking part faces the following technical difficulties in the design and manufacturing process: the width of the locking part is only 0.5mm, and the material is prone to breakage or uneven deformation during bending. The bending process needs to reserve a certain length of material to complete the bending operation, and the 0.5mm wide locking part needs longer reserved size when bending. Because the width of the locking part is extremely narrow, the mold is easily affected by the elastic deformation of the material during forming, resulting in a large deviation between the forming result and the design.

[0042] In the following embodiments, the half-cutting process is involved, which is a metal processing technology mainly used to form local protruding structures on thin plate materials. Its characteristics are that in the cutting process, the tool does not completely cut off the material, but leaves a part of the material connected to form the required shape. This process combines the characteristics of punching and shearing.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the application proposes a self-locking buckle C for FFC connector female socket B, including: a mounting part 1 for mounting on the FFC connector female socket B; an unlocking part 2 connected with the mounting part 1 through an elastic part 4; and a locking part 3 connected with the unlocking part 2 through a connecting part 5, which extends vertically downward from one side of the mounting part 1, the bottom surface of the locking part 3 is formed with an arc-shaped protruding part 31 through a half-cutting process, one end of the arc-shaped protruding part 31 is a connecting end connected with the locking part 3, and the other end is a locking flat surface 32, the unlocking part 2 unlocks the FFC connector male head A inserted into the FFC connector female socket B by moving the locking flat surface 32 downward.

[0044] As shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 The working principle of the application is as follows:

[0045] Initial state: When the FFC connector male head A is not inserted, the arc-shaped protruding part 31 of the locking part 3 is formed through a half-cutting process. The elastic part 4 is in a natural state, providing upward elastic support for the unlocking part 2, so that the locking flat surface 32 is kept at a certain height, ensuring the stability of the locking structure.

[0046] Inserting the FFC connector male head A: When the FFC connector male head A is inserted into the female socket, the bottom of the male head will contact the arc-shaped protruding part 31 of the locking part 3. Due to the design of the arc-shaped protruding part 31, the insertion force of the male head will cause the locking part 3 to move slightly downward, and the elastic part 4 is compressed, allowing the male head to be inserted smoothly.

[0047] Locking completion: When the FFC connector male head A is completely inserted in place, the arc-shaped protruding part 31 of the locking part 3 rebounds under the restoring force of the elastic part 4, and the locking flat surface 32 tightly contacts the side surface of the locking groove of the male head, forming a reliable locking state.

[0048] Unlocking process: When the FFC connector male head A needs to be pulled out, the user presses the unlocking part 2, which drives the locking part 3 to move downward through the connecting part 5. The locking flat surface 32 moves downward and separates from the locking groove of the male head, releasing the locking state. Under the continuous pressure of the unlocking part 2, the arc-shaped protruding part 31 further descends, providing enough space for the male head to be pulled out, and the user can easily pull out the male head.

[0049] Restoring the initial state: After pulling out the male head, the user releases the unlocking part 2, and the elastic part 4 restores to the natural state, driving the locking part 3 to rebound to the initial position, preparing for the next insertion and locking.

[0050] The self-locking latch C of this application achieves quick locking and convenient unlocking of the FFC connector male head A through the linkage design of the arc-shaped protrusion 31 formed by a semi-shearing punching process, the elastic support of the elastic part 4, and the unlocking part 2. Its working principle is simple and reliable, meeting the needs of miniaturization design while improving the stability of locking and the convenience of user operation, making it suitable for electronic devices with high requirements for space and reliability.

[0051] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the upper surface of the arc-shaped protrusion 31 is an arc-shaped surface. The arc-shaped surface design allows the male FFC connector A to smoothly glide over the arc-shaped protrusion 31 during insertion, reducing frictional resistance during the insertion process. This smooth transition design avoids the jamming or insertion / removal difficulties that may be caused by traditional right angles or sharp edges, improving the smoothness of user operation.

[0052] like Figure 3 As shown, in one embodiment, the mounting part 1 is a grounding plate. By directly designing the mounting part 1 as a grounding plate, additional grounding components and connection steps are eliminated, simplifying the overall structural design. This integrated grounding design not only reduces the number of parts but also lowers assembly difficulty and production costs. The grounding plate is typically made of metal, possessing high mechanical strength, and provides additional support and fixation for the FFC connector female B.

[0053] like Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment, the elastic part 4 is curved. This embodiment can be designed to ensure the reliability and durability of the latch during the self-locking process through low insertion force (0.3N), reasonable stress distribution (maximum stress 214MPa, far below the material yield strength of the elastic part 4 of 538MPa), and no yielding characteristics. The curved design of the elastic part 4 further optimizes the stress distribution, improves the elastic deformation capacity, and enhances the smoothness of insertion and removal.

[0054] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the mounting part 1 includes a horizontal grounding main body part 11, a vertical part 12, and a second horizontal part 13. The vertical part 12 extends vertically upward from one side of the horizontal grounding main body part 11, and the second horizontal part 13 extends horizontally to the left from the upper side of the vertical part 12.

[0055] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the horizontal grounding main body 11 is provided with a first protrusion 14.

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment, a second protrusion 15 is provided on the left side of the vertical portion 12.

[0057] The first protrusion 14 and the second protrusion 15 serve as positioning and fixing points, making it easier for the mounting part 1 to be aligned and inserted into the snap-fit ​​mounting groove A1 of the plastic body D of the female seat. This design simplifies the installation process, reduces assembly difficulty, and improves production efficiency.

[0058] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the rear side of the vertical portion 12 extends rearward to form a snap-fit ​​portion 16. The snap-fit ​​portion 16 is designed to allow the mounting portion 1 to form an additional mechanical lock with the plastic body D of the female connector, improving the connection's strength. This design prevents the mounting portion 1 from loosening or falling off under vibration or impact conditions, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the connector.

[0059] like Figure 3 As shown, this application also provides an FFC connector female socket, including: a plastic body D and self-locking clips C, the self-locking clips C being respectively installed in the clip mounting grooves A1 on both sides of the plastic body D. The self-locking clips C installed on both sides of the plastic body D form a symmetrical locking structure, which can evenly distribute the locking force and ensure a firm connection between the FFC connector male head A and the female socket. The self-locking clips C are tightly engaged with the clip mounting grooves A1 of the plastic body D, increasing the mechanical strength of the overall structure. The self-locking clips C being installed in the clip mounting grooves A1 on both sides of the plastic body D fully utilizes the side space of the connector, eliminating the need for additional locking components.

[0060] In the description of the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0061] The devices or elements referred to in the embodiments of this application or implied herein must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of this application. In the description of the embodiments of this application, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise precisely specified.

[0062] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and the like in the description and in the claims of the present application, and above-described drawings, if any, are used to distinguish between similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the use of such terms are not to be construed as implying any order of precedence or sequence. It is also to be understood that the data used to describe the present embodiments, if any, can be interchanged, where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be carried out in other than the order described or shown herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "include", "including", and the like, if used, are used to mean including but not limited to, that is, comprehended by the description, but not limited to, to the extent that the description is not exclusive of additional non-specific features discussed.

[0063] Finally, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely intended to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit the same. Although the above-described embodiments of the present application are described in detail, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions recorded in the above-described embodiments can be modified, or some or all of the technical features can be replaced by equivalent replacements. The modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A self-locking latch for an FFC connector female socket, characterized in that, include: Mounting part, the mounting part being used for mounting on the FFC connector female; An unlocking part, which is connected to the mounting part via an elastic part; The locking part is connected to the unlocking part via a connecting part. The bottom surface of the locking part is formed into an arc-shaped protrusion by a half-shearing punching process. One end of the arc-shaped protrusion is a connecting end, which is connected to the locking part. The other end of the arc-shaped protrusion is a locking plane. The unlocking part unlocks the FFC connector male head inserted into the FFC connector female socket by moving the locking plane downward.

2. The self-locking buckle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper surface of the arc-shaped protrusion is an arc-shaped surface.

3. A self-locking buckle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting part is a grounding plate.

4. A self-locking buckle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic part is curved in an arc shape.

5. A self-locking buckle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting portion includes a horizontal grounding main body, a vertical portion, and a second horizontal portion. The vertical portion extends vertically upward from one side of the horizontal grounding main body, and the second horizontal portion extends horizontally to the left from the upper side of the vertical portion.

6. A self-locking buckle according to claim 5, characterized in that, The horizontal grounding main body is provided with a first protrusion.

7. A self-locking buckle according to claim 5, characterized in that, A second protrusion is provided on the left side of the vertical part.

8. A self-locking buckle according to claim 5, characterized in that, The rear side of the vertical part extends backward to form a snap-fit ​​part.

9. An FFC connector female socket, characterized in that, include: Plastic body The self-locking buckle as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is respectively installed in the buckle mounting grooves on both sides of the plastic body.

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