JPH0222290Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention is a method of bonding a conductive foil used in precision equipment such as small serial printers and a film, which is a flexible electrically insulating substrate, into one piece. Flexible cables, especially flexible printed cables
circuit (hereinafter referred to as FPC), flexible
Regarding flat cables (hereinafter referred to as FFC).

(Prior art) The fourth method of using conventional flexible cables
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, 1 is an FPC (FFC), a connection part 11 with the printing means 3 is fixed to the carriage 2 together with the printing means 3, and a connection part 13 with an external circuit is
It is fixed by a fixing member 4. Carriage 2
When moving in the arrow A direction and arrow B direction, the FPC
(FFC) 1 bends while moving as shown in Figure 5, so the area surrounded by the broken line in Figure 5 is
Required as operating space for FPC (FFC) 1. Especially in small serial printers, etc., the space is limited, so FPC (FFC) 1 is designed to reduce the thickness of the operating space.
Efforts have been made to reduce the width t ₂ of (FFC) 1. However, in such a method, the conductor foil 12...
It becomes difficult to widen the width of the conductive path, and the cross-sectional area of each conductive path becomes smaller, resulting in a higher resistance value.
This has the disadvantage of increasing energy loss.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, we created multiple slits and perforations in the body of the flat cable to make it easier to bend, and also provided protrusions on both ends to prevent them from overlapping when folded. A terminal plate is formed (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 56-28110), or a cutout is made in one end to partially separate it from the main body, and the cutout extends in the longitudinal direction of the body to the other end. It has been proposed to have a cutout in which the body is bifurcated (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 15992/1983).

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Although these cables allow the width of the body that forms the transmission line to be reduced in half, in the former cable the terminal board is composed of a single board. Not only does this have a problem of low mechanical strength, making it easy to break, especially at the joints where loads are easily applied, but also because the body is partially integrated at bends, making it difficult to handle. There is a problem with loss of flexibility.

In addition, the latter has an open end and is bifurcated, so it is necessary to connect each end separately, which is not only cumbersome, but also has a notch in the width direction at the other end. Therefore, there is a problem in that the area becomes smaller by the amount of the cutout, and the area in which a conductive path can be formed becomes smaller.

The present invention was made in view of these problems, and its purpose is to solve these problems at once, simplify the connection work, ensure the strength of the connection part, and improve conductivity. An object of the present invention is to provide a new flexible cable for a serial printer that can increase the path forming area.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a trunk section with a length necessary to connect the stationary section and the reciprocating section, and both ends of the trunk section. A terminal plate part protruding from the body part to the same side is formed of a flexible electrically insulating substrate, and a single slit is formed in the central part of the body part and continues to the vicinity of both terminal plate parts, and one A conductive pattern was formed extending from one terminal plate part to the other terminal plate part, and the body parts were bent so as to overlap each other with the slit as a line of symmetry.

(Function) When bent so that the slits are aligned with the line of symmetry, the body parts overlap and the width becomes approximately 1/2, and the tip side of the terminal plate part is made of a single board, so it is flexible. On the other hand, since the base side of the terminal plate section has two overlapping boards, it has high mechanical strength and can therefore fully bear the load. Stop,
There is no risk of damage even if the cable is subjected to force due to bending motion.

Furthermore, since the parts that become bent parts when connected are separated by one continuous slit, flexible bending is guaranteed.

(Example) The details of the present invention will be explained below based on the illustrated example.

Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of the flexible cable of the present invention in an expanded state, and the reference numeral 60 in the figure indicates the length required to connect the fixed part and the carriage, and the length required to connect the fixed part and the carriage. It has a width sufficient to form conductive pattern parts 53, 53,
Both ends thereof are provided with terminal plate portions 51 and 52 that protrude to the same side (right side in the figure). Torso 6
0 also has one continuous slit 5 that separates the central part in the width direction and reaches almost the vicinity of the terminal plate parts 51 and 52, that is, leaves continuous parts 63 and 64 at both ends.
5 is formed and the body 60 is divided into two parts 61, 62.
The electrically insulating flexible substrate 5 is constructed by being separated into two parts. One terminal plate portion 51 is provided on the surface of each separated body portion 61, 62 and terminal plate portion 51, 52.
from the other terminal plate portion 5 via the body portions 61 and 62.
Conductive patterns 53, 53, . . . are formed to form a flexible cable 5.

By the way, the slit 55 is connected to the terminal plate parts 51, 5.
Since it is not extended up to 2, the body parts 61 and 62
The conductive patterns 53, 53... can be integrated into the terminal plate parts 51, 52 without changing their cross-sectional areas, and the conductive patterns formed on the wide body part 60 can be directly drawn out to the terminal plate parts.

As shown in FIG.
One side 62 of 0 overlaps the other 61, and the width _t1 becomes approximately 1/2, and on the end side, the tip of the terminal plate part 51 protruding from the body part 61 becomes a single board and has extremely high flexibility. While maintaining the mechanical strength, overlapping parts 51a and 52a are formed by two substrates on the body side to increase mechanical strength.

In this state, one terminal plate part 51 is attached to the connecting part of the carriage 2, which is a reciprocating member on which the printing means 3 is mounted, and the other terminal plate part 52 is attached to the fixed member 4, which is a stationary part. Next, the printing means 3 and the circuit system are electrically connected by connecting the conductive patterns of the terminal plate parts 51 and 52 to the connectors. Needless to say, the parts provided for electrical connection are highly flexible since they are formed of a single board, and therefore the connection work can be easily performed, while the other parts 51a, 52
Since a is formed by overlapping the continuous parts 63 and 64, it has a high mechanical strength and can therefore sufficiently receive the load, and no unreasonable force is applied to the connecting part.

In this state, when the carriage 2 is moved in both directions A and B to perform printing, the cable 5 smoothly bends into a "U" shape because both sides of the bending section 54 are open. This will follow the movement of the carriage 2.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, in the present invention, there is provided a body portion having the length necessary to connect the stationary part and the reciprocating part, and terminals protruding from both ends of the body part in the same direction. The plate portion is formed of a flexible electrically insulating substrate, and a single slit is formed in the center of the body portion that continues to the vicinity of both terminal plate portions, and a continuous slit is formed in the center of the body portion, and a slit is formed in the center of the body portion, and a continuous slit is formed from one terminal plate portion to the other terminal plate portion. At the same time, we formed a conductive pattern that extends to the slit, and bent the body parts so that they were overlapped, using the slit as the line of symmetry.If we bent the body parts with the slit as the line of symmetry, the body parts would overlap and the width would be approximately 1/2. Since the electrical connection part is formed from a single board, it is highly flexible and can therefore be easily connected, while the mechanical fixation part is formed by stacking two boards together. Because of this, it has a high mechanical strength and can sufficiently absorb the load, so there is no risk of damage even if it is subjected to the force caused by the bending motion of the cable.

Moreover, since the bending motion parts are separated by one continuous slit, the bending motion can be smoothly performed.

Furthermore, since both ends are made up of continuous parts and a conductive pattern is formed only on one side, connection is easy, and since there is no notch in the body facing the terminal plate, the body and terminal The conductive area with the plate portion can be increased, and the conductive pattern can be drawn out to the terminal portion even with the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern on the body.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 are plan views showing an embodiment of the present invention before and after stacking, respectively, and Figure 3 shows the cable according to the present invention mounted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional cable mounted state, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the operating range of the cable. 1...FPC (FFC), 2...Carriage, 3...
...Printing means, 4...Fixing member, 5...Electrically insulating flexible substrate, 51, 52...Terminal plate portion, 53, 5
3... Conductive pattern portion, 55... Slit, 60
...Body part, 63, 64... Continuous part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A body portion having a length necessary to connect the stationary portion and the reciprocating portion, and terminal plate portions protruding from both ends of the body portion in the same direction are formed of a flexible electrically insulating substrate. , a single slit is formed in the center of the body portion that continues to the vicinity of both terminal plate portions, a conductive pattern is formed from one terminal plate portion to the other terminal plate portion, and the slit is symmetrically formed. A flexible cable for a serial printer, which is formed by bending the body parts so as to overlap each other as a wire.