Circuit Board Connectors

Abstract

To provide a connector for a circuit board capable of improving connection workability to another connector.SOLUTION: There is provided a connector A formed by forming a connector connection pattern 15 connected to a circuit pattern 13 near the end of a film plate 11 on which the circuit pattern 13 is formed. A reinforcing plate 50 is adhered to the opposite side of the film plate 11 where the connector connection pattern 15 is provided. The reinforcing plate 50 is formed in a size that covers the connector connection pattern 15 and a part of the circuit pattern 13 connected to the connector connection pattern 15 from the back side thereof. An adhesion prevention layer 17 on the back side of the circuit pattern 13 in the vicinity of the connector connection pattern 15 of the film plate 11 is provided, such that a portion of the reinforcing plate 50 in which the adhesion layer 53 is located on the adhesion prevention layer 17 and prevented from adhering to the film plate 11 is referred to as a knob portion 55 when the adhesive layer 53 formed on the upper surface of the reinforcing plate 50 is adhered to the film plate 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a circuit board connector that is inserted into a female connector and connected electrically and mechanically. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as shown in, for example, Figures 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1, there is a connector (male connector) (35) for a circuit board (10) that is configured by forming a connector connection pattern (31) connected to a circuit pattern (30) near the end of a substrate (20) made of a film plate having a circuit pattern (30) formed on its surface.

[0003] In this connector (35), in order to ensure strength (rigidity) when inserting and connecting to the female connector, a reinforcing plate (80) is adhered to the back surface of the portion of the base material (20) where the connector connection pattern (31) is formed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-261199 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The operation of inserting and connecting the connector (35) of the circuit board (10) into the female connector is performed manually, but if the size of the connector (35) of the circuit board (10) becomes small, it becomes difficult to hold the connector with fingers or the like and insert it into the female connector, resulting in a problem of poor connection workability.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector for a circuit board that can improve the workability of connecting connectors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is characterized in that, in a circuit board connector constructed by forming a connector connection pattern near an end of a flexible substrate having a circuit pattern formed on its surface, the connector connection pattern is formed to connect to the circuit pattern, a reinforcing plate is adhered to the surface of the substrate opposite the surface on which the connector connection pattern is formed, and the reinforcing plate is formed to a size sufficient to cover the connector connection pattern and a portion of the circuit pattern connected to the connector connection pattern from its back surface, and an anti-adhesion layer is provided on the back surface of the circuit pattern near the connector connection pattern of the substrate, so that when an adhesive layer formed on one surface of the reinforcing plate is adhered to the substrate, a portion of the adhesive layer is positioned on the anti-adhesion layer of the substrate, preventing adhesion of the reinforcing plate to the substrate, and this portion serves as a knob portion of the reinforcing plate. According to the present invention, the knob portion of the reinforcing plate can be grasped with fingers or the like, so that even if the connector is made compact, the connector can be easily and reliably connected to another connector. In addition, since the reinforcing plate is small, it is difficult to precisely form a surface without an adhesive layer on the portion of the reinforcing plate that will become the knob, whereas the circuit board is larger than the reinforcing plate, so it is easy to precisely form an anti-adhesion layer on the circuit board side by printing, etc. This makes it possible to precisely and easily provide the knob on the reinforcing plate.

[0008] In addition to the above features, the present invention is characterized in that the adhesion prevention layer is made of a material having light-transmitting properties. According to the present invention, the back surface of the substrate can be visually observed from the lower surface side of the adhesion prevention layer, and abnormalities in the substrate can be confirmed. In particular, if the substrate is made of a light-transmitting material, the circuit pattern formed on the front surface side of the substrate can be visually observed from the adhesion prevention layer side, and therefore breaks in the circuit pattern can be easily confirmed.

[0009] In addition to the above-mentioned features, the present invention is characterized in that the adhesive layer is formed over the entire surface of one surface of the reinforcing plate. According to the present invention, even if the dimensions of the reinforcing plate are small, there is no need to precisely form the portion where the adhesive layer is not provided, so that the adhesive layer can be easily formed on the reinforcing plate.

[0010] In addition to the above features, the present invention is characterized in that the adhesion prevention layer is formed by printing. According to the present invention, an adhesion preventing layer can be easily and accurately formed on a circuit board. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, since the knob portion of the reinforcing plate can be held by fingers, etc., the efficiency of connection when connecting the connector to another connector can be improved. Also, the knob portion can be provided on the reinforcing plate with high accuracy and ease. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the circuit board 10 near a connector A, as viewed from above. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the circuit board 10 near a connector A as viewed from above. [Diagram 3] 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the circuit board 10 near a connector A, as viewed from below. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the circuit board 10 near a connector A as viewed from below. [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a portion of the circuit board 10 near a connector A. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is an explanatory diagram of a method for inserting a connector A into a connector 60. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a portion near a connector (male connector) A of a circuit board 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the portion near the connector A, as viewed from above, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the portion near the connector A, as viewed from below, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the portion near the connector A, as viewed from below.

[0014] As shown in these figures, the portion of circuit board 10 near connector A is constructed by forming circuit pattern 13 on the front surface (upper surface) of flexible base material (hereinafter referred to as "film plate") 11, covering the upper surface with insulating layer 30, forming anti-adhesion layer 17 at a predetermined position on the rear surface (lower surface) of film plate 11, and further adhering reinforcing plate 50 to the lower surface of the portion that will become connector A at the tip of circuit board 10. In the following description, "upper" or "front surface" refers to the surface side of film plate 11 on which circuit pattern 13 is formed, and "lower" or "rear surface" refers to the opposite surface side. Also, the side of circuit board 10 on which connector A is provided is referred to as the "tip side", and the opposite side is referred to as the "base side".

[0015] The film plate 11 is made of a flexible insulating synthetic resin film (in this example, a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film). The film plate 11 shown in Figs. 1 to 4 shows a portion that is drawn out to form the connector A, and in this example, is formed in a strip shape.

[0016] On the film plate 11, a plurality of (three) circuit patterns 13 are formed in parallel, and the portions near the ends (portions that become connector A and are not covered by the insulating layer 30) are made into the connector connection pattern 15. In other words, the circuit pattern 13 is formed so as to be connected to the connector connection pattern 15. The circuit pattern 13 (including the connector connection pattern 15) is formed by printing and forming one or more layers of conductive paste (for example, silver paste (silver powder mixed with urethane-based, phenol-based, or other resin material dissolved in a solvent) or carbon paste (carbon powder mixed with urethane-based, phenol-based, or other resin material dissolved in a solvent) on the film plate 11 by screen printing or the like. It goes without saying that the materials of the film plate 11 and the circuit pattern 13 can be variously changed, and the circuit pattern 13 may be formed by using various printing methods other than screen printing, or various pattern forming methods other than printing, such as etching of metal foil.

[0017] The insulating layer 30 is formed by printing an insulating resin paste on the surface of the film plate 11 except for the tip portion (the portion that will become the connector connection pattern 15). The insulating layer 30 may also be formed by attaching a resin film.

[0018] The adhesion prevention layer 17 is formed on the back side of the circuit pattern 13 near the connector connection pattern 15 of the film plate 11. The material of the adhesion prevention layer 17 may be any material that inhibits adhesion of the adhesive layer 53 applied to the reinforcing plate 50 described below, and in this example, the adhesion prevention layer 17 is formed by printing a light-transmitting ink. The formation range of the adhesion prevention layer 17 is from the back side position of the circuit board 10 facing the circuit pattern 13 connected to the connector connection pattern 15, that is, the back side position of the end portion near the tip side of the insulating layer 30 (more specifically, the position on the back side of the contact with the pattern contact metal terminal of the female connector 60 described below) to a position away from the connector A by a predetermined dimension to the back side, and is formed over the entire width of the film plate 11. In this example, a light-transmitting ink is used as the adhesion prevention layer 17, but any paint or even film may be used as long as it is a material that can prevent adhesion to the adhesive layer 53 of the reinforcing plate 50.

[0019] The reinforcing plate 50 is constructed by forming a transparent adhesive layer 53 on the entirety of one surface of a film plate 51 made of a flexible insulating synthetic resin film (transparent PET film in this example). The reinforcing plate 50 is rectangular, and its width is formed to be the same as the width of the circuit board 10. The length of the reinforcing plate 50 in the tip-to-base direction is longer by a predetermined length (the length of a knob portion 55 described below) than the length of the connector connection pattern 15 in the same direction. In other words, the reinforcing plate 50 is formed to be large enough to cover the connector connection pattern 15 and a part of the circuit pattern 13 connected to the connector connection pattern 15 from the back surface side.

[0020] The reinforcing plate 50 is adhered to the surface of the film plate 11 opposite to the surface on which the connector connection pattern 15 is provided, and at this time, the adhesive layer 53 at the base side of the reinforcing plate 50 is located on the adhesion prevention layer 17 of the film plate 11, preventing the reinforcing plate 50 from adhering to the film plate 11. The portion of the reinforcing plate 50 where the adhesion is prevented is defined as a gripping portion 55. In this example, an adhesive material having translucency and curable with ultraviolet light (photocurable) is used as the adhesive layer 53, and after the reinforcing plate 50 coated with the adhesive layer 53 is adhered to the back surface of the film plate 11, the adhesive layer 53 is hardened by irradiating ultraviolet light from the underside of the transparent film plate 51 through which ultraviolet light passes. Since the ultraviolet-curable resin is quickly and reliably hardened and loses its viscosity by irradiation with ultraviolet light, the adhesive layer 53 attached to the gripping portion 55 can also be easily and reliably hardened and loses its viscosity. In this way, the viscosity of adhesive layer 53 disappears quickly and reliably, improving manufacturing workability, and gripping portion 55 does not become sticky when pinched with fingers, etc. Furthermore, dirt and the like do not adhere to it. Note that, as the material for adhesive layer 53, in addition to ultraviolet curing resin, thermosetting resin or thermoplastic resin may be used, or two or more of these resins may be mixed together.

[0021] 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the connector A of the circuit board 10 constructed as described above. As shown in the figure, the connector A of the circuit board 10 is constructed by forming a connector connection pattern 15 connected to the circuit pattern 13 near the end of a flexible film plate 11 having a circuit pattern 13 formed on its surface, and a reinforcing plate 50 is bonded to the surface of the film plate 11 opposite to the surface on which the connector connection pattern 15 is provided, and the reinforcing plate 50 is formed to a size that covers the connector connection pattern 15 and a part of the circuit pattern 13 connected to the connector connection pattern 15 from its back side, and an anti-adhesion layer 17 is provided on the back side of the circuit pattern 13 near the connector connection pattern 15 of the film plate 11, so that when an adhesive layer 53 formed on one surface of the reinforcing plate 50 is bonded to the film plate 11, a part of the adhesive layer 53 is located on the anti-adhesion layer 17 of the film plate 11, and the part where the adhesion of the reinforcing plate 50 to the film plate 11 is prevented is configured as a knob part 55 of the reinforcing plate 50.

[0022] 6, when the male connector A is inserted into the connection insertion hole 61 of the female connector 60 for connection, the connector A allows the knob 55 of the reinforcing plate 50 to be pinched with fingers X1, X2, etc. Therefore, even if the connector A is made small, the connector A can be easily and reliably inserted into and connected to another connector 60, improving the efficiency of the connection work.

[0023] Furthermore, as in the above connector A, if the knob portion 55 is configured to be formed using the anti-adhesion layer 17, the knob portion 55 can be formed on the reinforcing plate 50 with high precision and ease even if the dimensions of the connector A are small. That is, it is difficult to form the knob portion 55 by precisely providing a surface on which the adhesive layer 53 is not formed on a part of the surface of the small reinforcing plate 50, whereas the film plate 11 (circuit board 10) is larger than the reinforcing plate 50, it is easy to precisely form the anti-adhesion layer 17 on the film plate 11 (circuit board 10) side by printing or the like. Therefore, as described above, the knob portion 55 can be precisely and easily provided on the reinforcing plate 50.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the connector A, since the anti-adhesion layer 17 having light transmission is used, the back surface of the film plate 11 can be visually observed from the surface side (lower surface side) of the anti-adhesion layer 17. This makes it possible to easily check for abnormalities in the circuit board 10, such as breaks in the circuit pattern 13 formed on the surface side of the transparent film plate 11, through the anti-adhesion layer 17.

[0025] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned connector A, since it is sufficient to form the adhesive layer 53 on the entire one side of the reinforcing plate 50, even if the dimensions of the reinforcing plate 50 are small, the adhesive layer 53 can be easily formed on the reinforcing plate 50.

[0026] Furthermore, since the adhesion prevention layer 17 is formed by printing, the adhesion prevention layer 17 can be formed on the circuit board 10 (film plate 11) easily and accurately.

[0027] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims and the specification and drawings. Any shape, structure, or material not directly described in the specification and drawings is within the scope of the technical ideas of the present invention as long as it achieves the functions and effects of the present invention. For example, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made to the shape and structure of the film plate 11, the circuit pattern 13, the connector A, the connector connection pattern 15, the reinforcing plate 50, etc. In some cases, the adhesion prevention layer 17 may be made of an opaque material. In some cases, the adhesive layer 53 does not necessarily have to be formed on the entire surface of one side of the reinforcing plate 50. In some cases, the reinforcing plate 50 may be made of a hard plate. In addition, the embodiments shown in the above description and each figure can be combined with each other as long as there is no contradiction in their purpose and configuration. In addition, even a part of the description in the above description and each figure can be an independent embodiment, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to one embodiment combining the above description and each figure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 10 Circuit Board 11 Film plate (base material) 13 Circuit Pattern 15 Connector connection pattern 17 Anti-adhesion layer A Connector 50 Reinforcement plate 51 Film Plate 53 Adhesive layer 55 Knob

Claims

1. A connector for a circuit board is constructed by forming a connector connection pattern near an end of a flexible substrate having a circuit pattern formed on a surface thereof, the connector connection pattern being connected to the circuit pattern, a reinforcing plate is attached to a surface of the base material opposite to the surface on which the connector connection pattern is provided, and the reinforcing plate is formed to a size such that the reinforcing plate covers the connector connection pattern and a part of a circuit pattern connected to the connector connection pattern from the back surface side; A connector for a circuit board, characterized in that an anti-adhesion layer is provided on the back side of the circuit pattern near the connector connection pattern of the substrate, so that when an adhesive layer formed on one side of the reinforcing plate is adhered to the substrate, a portion of the adhesive layer is positioned on the anti-adhesion layer of the substrate, preventing adhesion of the reinforcing plate to the substrate, and the portion serves as a knob portion of the reinforcing plate.

2. 2. The circuit board connector of claim 1, 13. A connector for a circuit board, comprising: a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer;

3. 3. The circuit board connector according to claim 1, 2. A connector for a circuit board, comprising: a reinforcing plate having a first surface and a second surface;

4. 4. The circuit board connector according to claim 1, 2 or 3, 2. A connector for a circuit board, wherein the anti-adhesion layer is formed by printing.

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