Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Limited

Tomonari Ito

Masamitsu Chishima

Masahiko Aoyama

Hajime Okada

Masaaki Kobayashi

A housing includes a board-side housing which holds metal terminals and a cable-side housing holding a flat cable When the two housings and are connected together, conductors are connected to the metal terminals respectively. When the conductors are disconnected from the metal terminals the flat cable continues to be held by the cable-side housing and therefore the orderly arrangement of the conductors will not be disturbed, and also the conductors will not be deformed. Therefore, when the conductors are to be again connected to the metal terminals respectively, the conductors do not need to be corrected in shape and arranged properly. In the cable-side housing a holding member is pivotally supported on a positioning member and therefore the excellent operability is obtained when moving the holding member to a holding position.

Flat cable connector

A joint connector including a terminal and a connector housing. The terminal is provided with a pair of upstanding walls extending longitudinally of the terminal and spaced apart from each other. A resilient tongue is located between the walls and protrudes upwardly therefrom. This portion of the terminal fits into a corresponding receptacle in the connector housing. One of the two walls is shorter than the other and the receptacle has a similar configuration. Thus, when the terminal is inserted in proper orientation, the short wall matches the short portion of the receptacle opening and the terminal can be easily introduced. However, if the terminal is reversed, the high wall will be in contact with the short opening and entry will be prevented. In this manner, an opportunity for misassembly and consequent undesired deformation of the contact tongue are eliminated.

Joint connector

A connector for a flat cable made up of a plurality of electrically conductive wires located side-by-side. The connector is provided with a receiving chamber within which electrodes intended to be connected to the cable are located. Additional contacts are located on one of the internal walls of the receiving chamber. A generally planar retainer enters into a second space between the electrodes and the wall of the receiving chamber remote from the contacts. The retainer is provided with a rib which extends into a first space between the conductors and the contacts. The retainer is partially inserted into the first space and the leading end of the cable is thereafter introduced. The rib guides the leading end into the first space and prevents it from entering the second space. The flat cable is provided with two groups of conductive wires, spaced laterally from each other. The cable is folded longitudinally so that one of the groups is on each side, thereby permitting an increase in the number of conductive wires without a corresponding increase in the width of the cable or the size of the connector.

Connector for flat cables

A terminal is enhanced in a spring function of its contact tongue and formed into a compact size. A terminal body (31) includes a bottom wall (31c), a pair of side walls (31a, 31b) each of which stands on one of opposite side ends of the bottom wall (31c), and a contact tongue (32) formed on said bottom wall between said side walls. The tongue (32) includes a front spring portion (33) turned back from a front end of said bottom wall (31c) between the side walls (31a, 31b) and a rear spring portion (34) turned back in a U-shape from a rear end of the contact tongue (32) in opposition to the front spring portion (33). Each of the side walls (31a, 31b) of the terminal body (31) is provided with an engaging hole (36) which is adapted to receive a support projection (35) provided on the distal end of the rear spring portion (34) so that they (36, 35) support the distal end of the contact tongue (32).

Terminal and joint connector using the same

A female terminal metal fixture which can prevent a resilient contact tongue from being deflected over a wide range. A box-like body is provided on its right and left side walls with an inwardly bulged restrictive portion formed by a bulging process. Each restrictive portion extends longitudinally below a resilient contact tongue from the distal end of the tongue to the front end of the contact. When a tab is inserted into the insertion space slantwise, the tongue is deflected down by a distance greater than lo that in the case of a normal insertion. The first contact section of the tongue contacts the front corner of the restrictive portion, while the second contact section contacts the rear upper face of the portion. Thus, the tongue is prevented from being deflected beyond its elastic limit. Alternatively, the box-like body is provided on its side walls with an inwardly bulged restrictive portion extending longitudinally from an opening in the body to about the midpoint of the resilient tongue. The restrictive portion has an upper horizontal edge section at its rear, and an upper ascending slope edge section at its front. When the tab is inserted into the opening slanting downwardly, the distal end contacts the ascending slope and is prevented from reaching the tongue by the edge section. If the tab is further inserted into the opening, the distal end slides on the upper ascending slope and reaches the upper horizontal edge. Then, the tab slides on the horizontal edge and is directed to the correct horizontal position in the insertion space. This keeps deflection of the tongue within the elastic limit thereof and provides an elastic contact between the tab and the tongue.

Female terminal, metal fixture

A female terminal fitting for a connector comprises: a cylindrical insertion portion whose front and is opened; and a resilient contact piece is disposed within the cylindrical insertion portion. The resilient contact piece includes: a first fold being formed by extending an extending end portion from a wall portion of the cylindrical insertion portion and folding the extending end portion back into a hollow of the cylindrical insertion portion, the first fold being given resiliency; a second fold being formed by further folding the extending end portion inward, the second fold being given resiliency; and a stopper for regulating an amount of flexion of the resilient contact piece, the stopper being formed by bending the extending end portion of the second fold so as to confront a back surface between the first fold and the second fold. A male terminal fitting is retained in pressure contact with the resilient contact piece by inserting the male terminal fitting into the cylindrical insertion portion.

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Yokkaichi, Japan

Tomonari Ito