JP5581882B2 - Flat cable and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flat cable having a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel, covered with insulating films from above and below, and provided with a terminal portion for connector connection at the end, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  As electronic devices become smaller and lighter, electronic components and wiring components mounted on these devices are becoming smaller. In particular, wiring members for electrical wiring are required to be capable of high-density wiring in a limited space. As such a wiring member, there is a flat cable in which a plurality of flexible flat conductors are gathered at a high density. In addition to downsizing and increasing the density of these wiring components themselves, studies have also been made to effectively store and install these wiring members in a limited narrow space.

  In FIG. 5A, a terminal portion 1b of a flat cable 1 in which a plurality of conductors 3 are arranged in parallel and bonded with an insulating film 4 from above and below is inserted into a connector 2 on which a large number of contacts 6 are arranged. In this case, the electrical connection is formed. The terminal portion 1 b exposes the end portion of the conductor 3 from one surface of the insulating film 4, reinforces it by attaching a reinforcing tape 5 on the insulating film 4 covering the end portion of the conductor, It is configured to be detachable.

  The reinforcing tape 5 is usually formed so as to protrude slightly from the end of the insertion opening of the connector 2 so as not to be bent by the elastic force of the contact 6 of the connector 2. For this reason, after the flat cable 1 is connected to the connector 2, if the cable portion 1 a is bent in the direction orthogonal to the terminal portion 1 b to be wired, it will be bent at an inner portion of 1 mm or more from the end of the reinforcing tape 5. . For this reason, the cable portion 1a is bent at a position away from the connector 2 by the distance S, and a space for bending is taken up.

On the other hand, for example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 5B, a non-adhesive portion 5 ′ that is not bonded to the surface of the insulating film 4 of the flat cable 1 is formed on the rear side of the reinforcing tape 5. It is disclosed that disconnection does not occur due to repeated insertion and removal with the connector.
Further, in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 5C, a portion 5a into which the reinforcing tape is inserted into the connector 2 and a portion 5b protruding from the connector are formed through the slit 5c, and the slit 5c is formed. It is disclosed that the flat cable is bent at the portion.

JP-A-7-335340 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-29609

  By using the configuration shown in FIG. 5B, the flat cable 1 can be bent inside the non-adhesive portion 5 ′ as compared with the case where the entire surface of the reinforcing tape 5 is bonded to the resin film 4. The distance between the connector 2 and the connector 2 can be reduced. However, the non-adhesive portion 5 ′ of the reinforcing tape 5 remains as it protrudes from the connector 2, and a storage space for that portion is required.

  5C, the insertion portion 5a of the reinforcing tape can be bent into the connector 2 after being inserted into the connector 2, and the distance between the flat cable 1 and the connector 2 can be reduced. be able to. However, since the portion 5b that protrudes from the insertion portion 5a of the reinforcing tape is separated by the slit portion 5c, the reinforcement for the insertion of the insertion portion 5a is not sufficient, and it is bent at the slit portion 5c in the middle of the insertion, and the insertion is poor. May be.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation. When the terminal portion of the flat cable is inserted into the connector, it can be easily inserted. After the insertion, the distance between the flat cable 1 and the connector 2 is increased. An object of the present invention is to provide a flat cable that can be bent in a small size and a manufacturing method thereof.

The flat cable and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are a flat cable in which a plurality of conductors are arranged in parallel and covered with an insulating film from above and below, and provided with a terminal portion for connector connection at an end portion. One end of the insulating film is removed to expose the end portion of the conductor, and a reinforcing tape is adhered to the surface of the insulating film covering the end portion of the conductor that is not in contact with the conductor of the other film. The reinforcing tape has an extended portion that protrudes from the connector in the longitudinal direction of the cable with the end portion of the conductor inserted into the connector, and the extended portion is not bonded to the insulating film, and is on the adhesive surface side of the reinforcing tape. Has a notch at the boundary between the unbonded portion of the extension and the other bonded portion.

  According to the present invention, the extension portion of the reinforcing tape can be grasped, and the end portion of the flat cable can be easily inserted into the connector, and workability can be improved. In addition, after inserting the end of the flat cable into the connector, the extension portion of the reinforcing tape can be bent or cut off and the flat cable can be bent in a state of being close to the connector, reducing the wiring space in the device. It becomes possible.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the flat cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the usage pattern of the flat cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the manufacturing method of the flat cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining the detail of the manufacturing method of the flat cable by this invention. It is a figure explaining a prior art.

  An outline of the flat cable according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A shows an outline of a flat cable, FIG. 1B shows a cross section of the cable, FIG. 1C shows a terminal portion of the cable, and FIG. 2A shows a state when inserted into the connector. FIG. 2 (B) is a diagram showing a state at the time of insertion into the connector. In the figure, 1 is a flat cable, 1a is a cable portion, 1b is a terminal portion, 2 is a connector, 3 is a conductor, 3a is a conductor end portion, 4 is an insulating film, 4a is a film substrate, 4b is an adhesive layer, Reference numeral 5 denotes a reinforcing tape, 6 denotes a connector contact, 7a denotes an adhesive portion, 7b denotes a non-adhesive portion, and 8 denotes a cut.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the flat cable 1 according to the present invention is inserted and connected to an insertion / removal type electrical connector 2 at both ends of a cable portion 1a in which a plurality of conductors are arranged in parallel and covered with an insulating film 4 from above and below. Terminal part 1b to be provided. In the terminal portion 1b, as will be described later, one end (the lower side in FIG. 1C) of the insulating film 4 is removed, and the end portion 3a of the conductor is exposed. A reinforcing tape 5 is bonded and fixed on the other film (upper side in FIG. 1C) of the insulating film 4 covering the conductor.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, for example, the cable portion 1a of the flat cable 1 is formed by arranging flat conductors 3 having a flat cross section in a parallel row, and sandwiching them with an insulating film 4 from both the upper and lower surfaces. Is formed. As the flat conductor 3, for example, a round conductor subjected to tin plating by electroplating and then stretched and rolled, or a wide strip-shaped conductor cut to a predetermined width can be used. .

  As the insulating film 4, for example, a film having a polyester resin film base 4a and a thermoplastic resin or thermosetting resin adhesive layer 4b on the inner surface of the film is used. Hereinafter, the film base 4a and the adhesive layer 4b are referred to as an insulating film 4. The insulating film 4 sandwiches the conductor 3 from the upper and lower surfaces and is bonded and integrated by pressing or melting the adhesive layer 4b to electrically insulate the conductors 3 arranged at high density.

As shown in FIG. 1C, in the terminal portion 1b, one insulating film 4 sandwiching the conductor 3 is removed at both ends of the cable portion 1a, and the surface of the end portion 3a of the conductor is exposed. The exposed surface of the end portion 3a of the conductor is subjected to tin plating, gold plating, or the like to be a contact conductor. On the surface of the other insulating film 4 that substantially supports the exposed end portion 3a of the conductor that is not in contact with the conductor , a reinforcing tape 5 is attached to form a rigid substrate, which is an insertion / extraction type. The electrical connector 2 is detachable. The reinforcing tape 5 may be a polyester resin tape similar to the insulating film 4, but a thicker and harder tape than the insulating film 4 is used.

  The reinforcing tape 5 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1C, a region d1 of the exposed end portion 3a of the conductor, a region d2 slightly protruding from the region, and a state inserted into the connector in the cable longitudinal direction. And a width dimension including an extension range D2 protruding from the connector. A range between the areas d1 and d2 is a range D1 inserted into the connector. In the present invention, the range D1 is an adhesive portion 7a for adhering and fixing the reinforcing tape 5 on the insulating film 4. The extension portion range D2 is a non-adhesive portion 7b that is not adhesively fixed to the insulating film 4 although the reinforcing tape 5 exists.

  A cut 8 is put on the bonding side of the reinforcing tape 5 at the ridge between the bonding portion 7 a and the non-bonding portion 7 b of the reinforcing tape 5. With this cut 8, the reinforcing tape 5 can be easily bent. When the reinforcing tape 5 is bent, the reinforcing tape 5 is bent so that the cut 8 is outside. In addition, when leaving the extension part of the reinforcement tape 5, a cut is made shallow, and when cutting an extension part after bending a reinforcement tape, a cut is made deeply and an extension part is cut off.

  As a specific terminal portion 1b, for example, if the region d1 of the exposed end portion 3a of the conductor is 2.5 mm, the protruding region d2 is about 1.5 mm, and the range D1 inserted into the connector is 4.0 mm. It will be about. The reinforcing tape 5 is bonded and integrated to the insulating film 4 within this range and fixed. On the other hand, the range D2 of the extension portion is not particularly limited in size, but may be about the same as the range D1 (ie, about 4 mm) for ease of gripping by hand when inserted into the connector. It may be.

FIG. 2A shows a state in which the terminal portion 1b of the flat cable is inserted into the connector 2, and the terminal portion 1b is inserted in the direction of the arrow against the elastic force of the contact 6 of the connector. At this time, the reinforcing tape 5 has a function of maintaining the terminal portion 1b in a hard state and grasping the above-described extension portion by hand to facilitate insertion into the connector.
The connector 2 is, for example, a jack type or a female type into which an edge of a printed circuit board is inserted, and the contact 6 presses the surface of the end portion 3a of the conductor to form an electrical connection. Is done. However, other types of connectors may be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the reinforcing tape 5 is bent. When the reinforcing tape 5 is bent so that the cut 8 is outside, the reinforcing tape is easily bent.
Subsequently, the cable portion 1a is bent in the direction opposite to the direction in which the reinforcing tape is bent in the insertion direction. The cable part 1a can be bent (lower profile) in the vicinity of the end of the bonding part 7a, and can be bent closer to the connector 2 than in the state shown in FIG. Then, after the connection between the flat cable 1 and the connector 2 is set, as shown in FIG. 2C, the extension portion which is the non-adhesive portion 7b is cut off at the portion of the cut 8 and the connector 2 You can keep it from sticking out.

The part where the cable is bent is a part inside d2 from the end of the insulating film 4 on the side where the conductor shown in FIG. 1C is exposed, and the conductor is covered with the insulating film, so the conductor is cut. It will not be done. Note that if the flat cable is bent at the end of the reinforcing tape 5, it is easy to break. This is because when the reinforcing tape 5 is applied, the conductor has a step at the end of the reinforcing tape, and the conductor is plastically deformed to cause work hardening. However, the portion where the flat cable of the present invention is bent is a portion on the inner side by D2 from the end of the reinforcing tape, so that it is not disconnected.
When it is desired to remove the extended portion of the bent reinforcing tape 5, the cut 8 to be inserted into the reinforcing tape 5 is deeply inserted so that the extended portion can be cut off, and the extended portion is bent and then cut off.

  Next, an example of a method for manufacturing a flat cable according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A shows a process of covering a plurality of conductors with an insulating film, FIG. 3B shows a process of attaching and cutting a reinforcing tape, and FIG. 4A shows a method of adhering the reinforcing tape. An example is shown, FIG.4 (B) shows the cut state of a reinforcement tape, and FIG.4 (C) is a figure which shows the state cut | disconnected and separated into a flat cable.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the insulating film forming the flat cable is continuously supplied in the form of tape-like films 11a and 11b having an adhesive layer on the inside. For example, openings 12 for forming terminal portions are formed in advance at a predetermined interval in one tape-shaped film 11a, and the other tape-shaped film 11b is supplied without opening.

  A plurality of conductors 3 arranged in parallel are sandwiched from both upper and lower surfaces by tape-like films 11 a and 11 b, bonded and integrated by a laminating roller 14, and partially exposed at the opening 12, Is done. As the laminating roller 14, a heating roller can be used according to the type of adhesive layer applied to the tape-like films 11a and 11b. Subsequently, the laminated wide tape 13 bonded and integrated is divided along the longitudinal direction by a slitter 15 to form a laminated thin tape 16 having a predetermined number of conductors, and is once wound to be a wound body.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the winding body of the laminated narrow tape 16 is rewound, and in this step, the reinforcing tape material 17 is fed out from the direction orthogonal to the laminated narrow tape 16 to open the opening. 12 is bonded to the back surface side of the tape 12 using a heat press 18 or the like, and is cut with a cutter 20 to the width of the laminated thin tape 16. Next, the laminated narrow tape 16 is cut at the center of the opening 12 with a cutter 21, and the flat cable 1 having terminal portions 1 b that are exposed at both ends of the cable portion 1 a and the end portions 3 a of the conductor are reinforced by the reinforcing plate 5; Is done.

As the reinforcing tape material 17, for example, a tape base material having an adhesive layer 17a and protected by a cover film 17b is used. In bonding for the reinforcement laminate narrow tape 16, leaving the cover film in the end parts of the tape 17, after incisions with the cutter 19, the laminate narrow tape while peeling off only the cover film 17b in the central portion It adheres to the back side of 16 openings 12.

When the cover 19 is cut with the cutter 19, the cut 8 described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 can be made by adjusting the cut depth. In this case, the extended portion of the reinforcing tape 5 can be left without being cut or can be cut. For example, when the thickness of the film base material of the reinforcing tape is 180 μm and the thickness of the adhesive layer is 30 μm, if the depth of the cut is 40 to 70 μm, the extension portion is left without being cut off after being bent. If the depth of the cut is 100 to 150 μm, the extension portion can be cut off after being bent.
In FIG. 3 (B), the process of cutting the reinforcing tape 17 and applying the reinforcing tape to the insulating film is a series of processes. It is good.

  FIG. 4A is an enlarged view showing the above-described bonding method of the reinforcing tape material 17, and only the central portion of the adhesive layer 17 a is exposed leaving both side portions in the width direction of the tape material 17. Glued together. After the reinforcing tape material 17 is bonded and fixed by the heat press 18 to the laminated narrow tape 16, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), it is cut off in alignment with the width of the laminated narrow tape 16, as shown in FIGS. The reinforcing tape 5 described is used.

After that, as shown in FIG. 4C, the center portion of the opening 12 is cut with a cutter 21, thereby producing a flat cable 1 having terminal portions 1b at both ends of the cable portion 1a described in FIG. be able to.
The reinforcing tape 5 is bonded and fixed by an adhesive portion 7a (adhesion by the above-described adhesive layer 17a) so as to include a region where the conductor is exposed, and a non-adhesive portion 7b that is not bonded at the boundary of the cut 8 is formed. As described above, the non-bonding portion 7b can be easily formed by leaving the cover films 17b at both ends of the reinforcing tape material 17 without peeling off.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, after pasting the tape-like film on the conductor, the example in which the reinforcing tape is pasted after being cut in the longitudinal direction is shown. A flat cable may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flat cable, 1a ... Cable part, 1b ... Terminal part, 2 ... Connector, 3 ... Conductor, 3a ... Conductor exposed part, 4 ... Insulating film, 4a ... Film base material, 4b ... Adhesive layer, 5 ... Reinforcement Tape, 6 ... contact of connector, 7a ... adhesive part, 7b ... non-adhesive part, 8 ... cut.

Claims (4)

A flat cable with a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel and covered with an insulating film laminated from above and below, and provided with a terminal portion for connector connection at the end,
The terminal portion is reinforced on the surface of the insulating film that is not in contact with the conductor of the other film of the insulating film that covers the end portion of the conductor, with one end of the insulating film removed to expose the end portion of the conductor. The tape is bonded and fixed,
The reinforcing tape has an extended portion protruding from the connector in a cable longitudinal direction in a state where an end portion of the conductor is inserted into the connector, and the extended portion is not bonded to the insulating film, and the reinforcing tape A flat cable characterized in that a cut line is formed at a boundary between an unbonded portion of the extension portion and another bonded portion on the bonding surface side of the cable.   The flat cable according to claim 1, wherein the extension portion can be cut when the extension portion of the reinforcing tape is bent at the cut. A method for producing a flat cable, in which a plurality of conductors are arranged in parallel and covered with an insulating film bonded from above and below, and provided with terminal portions for connector connection at the ends,
In the terminal portion, one end of the insulating film is removed to expose an end portion of the conductor, and the other end of the insulating film covering the end portion of the conductor is reinforced on the surface not in contact with the conductor. When adhesively fixing the tape,
The reinforcing tape has an extended portion that protrudes from the connector in a cable longitudinal direction in a state where an end portion of the conductor is inserted into the connector;
On the bonding surface side of the reinforcing tape, after making a cut at the boundary between the non-bonded portion of the extension portion and the other bonded portion, the reinforcing tape is bonded to another portion other than the extension portion. A method for producing a flat cable.   The method of manufacturing a flat cable according to claim 3, wherein the cut is a cut that can be cut by bending the extension portion.

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