JP2005259370A - Fluorescent tube connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

In an apparatus using a liquid crystal screen, a plurality of fluorescent tubes are arranged close to each other and a terminal line thereof is soldered to a printed circuit of a substrate for a backlight necessary for the liquid crystal screen. This soldering is a fine work in a limited space, and improvement is desired.
A terminal (7) supported on a substrate (2) has a configuration in which a dimension between contact portions (10, 10) is changed by a cam portion (17) of an actuator (5). In the open state, the terminal wire (18) of the fluorescent tube (3) between the contact portions (10, 10) is held by the contact portion (10, 10), and the conductive relationship between the terminal wire (18) and the terminal (7). Establish.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector device for a fluorescent tube used as a backlight of a liquid crystal screen.

  A large liquid crystal screen is often used for various electronic devices. In this liquid crystal screen, a fluorescent tube as a backlight is indispensable. For example, a plurality of fluorescent tubes having a diameter of 2.6 to 5 mm are provided side by side. The terminal wires (lead wires) of a large number of fluorescent tubes are made of copper-plated Fe-Ni alloy, facilitating soldering work for connection to the printed circuit.

JP 2002-367422 A JP 2003-279984 A

  However, high-temperature soldering operations must be performed in a limited space at the ends of adjacent terminal wires, and the finish may be uneven.

  Therefore, this invention makes it the subject which should be solved to eliminate the malfunction of the prior art example mentioned above.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention uses technical means for clipping or sandwiching a terminal line of a fluorescent tube between contact portions of a pair of terminals supported on a substrate.
The elasticity of the terminal side plate causes the contact portion and the terminal line of the fluorescent tube to be electrically connected.
The opening / closing operation of the actuator changes the dimension between the contact parts, and facilitates the insertion of the terminal line of the fluorescent tube between the contact parts in addition to the electrical continuity relationship described above.

  According to the present invention, a terminal made of a conductive material supported by a substrate, and an actuator rotatably held with respect to the terminal, the terminal is provided on the contact plate facing the pair, and the side plate forming the contact point. When the cam part of the actuator pushes and expands the operating piece, the distance between the contact parts facing each other is increased, and when the cam part is separated from the operating piece, it is positioned between the two contact parts by the elasticity of the side plate. There is provided a fluorescent tube connector device characterized in that a terminal line of a fluorescent tube can be held between both contact portions.

Since it is possible to connect to the terminal in a straight line without bending the terminal line of the fluorescent tube, and electrical connection can be obtained by the opening / closing operation of the actuator, the conventional soldering operation is not required.
Since the fluorescent tube is seated on the housing on the substrate, the interval can always be constant, and the fluorescent tube is held by the housing by the actuator, and there is no vibration of the fluorescent tube.

  Since the difference in size of the fluorescent tube can be dealt with by changing the actuator, the versatility of this apparatus is high.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the side plate of the terminal acts to bring the contact portion closer due to its elasticity, the terminal line of the fluorescent tube is sandwiched between the contact portions and can be electrically connected. This is possible only by the closing operation.

  According to the present invention, since the fluorescent tube is seated on the connector and the fluorescent tube is positioned, the attaching / detaching operation of the fluorescent tube can be easily performed by the robot.

  In addition, since the terminal wire of the fluorescent tube is only held between the contact points of the terminal and is not soldered, the fluorescent tube can be easily replaced by opening the actuator. It becomes.

  Holding the terminal wire of the fluorescent tube to the contact portion of the terminal does not require soldering and does not require measures for preventing deterioration of the soldered portion.

  1 to 7 show a fluorescent tube connector device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The connector device 1 includes a substrate 2 having a printed circuit, a housing 4 having a seat 6 supported by the substrate 2 and supporting the end of the fluorescent tube 3, and an actuator 5 rotatably supported by the housing 4. And a terminal 7 supported by the substrate 2 and made of a conductive material.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the terminal 7 extends in a direction closer to each other than the upper edge of the main body 8, a main body 8 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, a mounting piece 9 extending outward from the main body 8 to the side. It has a pair of contact portions 10 and 10 and a pair of operating pieces 12 and 12 extending outward from the side plates 11 and 11 of the main body 8. The attachment piece 9 has a leg piece 13, and the leg piece 13 extends to the bottom through the hole of the substrate 2. The attachment piece 9 has a hook 14, and the hook 14 is locked to the housing 4 to prevent the housing 4 from coming off from the substrate 2.
The protrusion 15 of the housing 4 is press-fitted into the substrate 2.

  The actuator 5 is rotatably held by the housing 4 or the terminal 7, and the top portion 16 covers and holds the fluorescent tube 3. The actuator 5 has a cam portion 17 therein. The cam portion 17 is pushed in between the side plates 11 and 11 of the terminal 7 and further between the operating pieces 12 and 12, and functions to expand the contact portions 10 and 10 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.

  In the open state of the actuator 5 shown in FIG. 1, the cam portion 17 expands the operating pieces 12 and 12 in a direction away from each other, and a space is created between the contact portions 10 and 10. When the fluorescent tube 3 is seated on the seat 6 of the housing 4, the terminal line 18 is positioned between the contact portions 10 and 10 (see FIG. 4).

After confirming the state of FIG. 4, the actuator 5 is closed to the state of FIG. 5. In this state, the cam portion 17 of the actuator 5 moves downward to the side plates 11 and 11 and the operating pieces 12 and 12, and the contact portions 10 and 10 are restored in the approaching direction by the elastic force. As a result, the terminal wire 18 is firmly clamped by the contact portions 10 and 10 to bring the terminal wire 18 into an electrically conductive relationship with the terminal 7.
The pinching of the terminal wire 18 by the contact portions 10 and 10 under the elastic force of the side plates 11 and 11 and the operating pieces 12 and 12 does not come off due to vibration or the like, and ensures a reliable conductive relationship.

  The example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is called SMT (Surface Mount Technology) or SMD (Surface Mount Device), and includes a pair of fixed pieces 20 extending outward from the pair of attachment pieces 9. The terminal 2 is fixed to the substrate 2 by being soldered to the substrate 2 with hot air. Also in this example, the terminal wire 18 of the fluorescent tube 3 is held between the contact portions 10 and 10.

  The example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 has actuator support pieces 21 and 21 that are integral with the mounting piece 9, and a protrusion (not shown) of the actuator 5 is inserted into the openings 22 and 22 of the support pieces 21 and 21. 5 is rotatably supported by the support pieces 21 and 21.

As shown in FIG. 8, the seat 6 of the housing 4 has a pair of inclined surfaces, and the outer surface of the fluorescent tube 3 is seated on these inclined surfaces. Thereby, the fluorescent tube 3 can be used for one housing 4 even if the diameter is different. Preferably, the actuator 5 has a shim so that the actuator 5 can be stably seated on the seat 6 while suppressing the fluorescent tube 3, and the actuator 5 may be changed according to the diameter of the fluorescent tube 3.
It is preferable to make a notch 23 in the front side surface of the actuator 5 to prevent interference and contact between the terminal wire 18 and the front side surface of the actuator 5 when the actuator 5 is opened and closed.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of 1st Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the board | substrate and terminal of the example of FIG. It is a top view which shows the contact part of a terminal. It is a top view which shows the state which clamps the terminal line of a fluorescent tube in a contact part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which closed the actuator. It is a perspective view which shows the terminal of the other example of this invention. It is a top view of the terminal of the example of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the seat of a housing.

Explanation of symbols

2 Substrate 3 Fluorescent tube 4 Housing 5 Actuator 6 Seat 7 Terminal 8 Body 9 Mounting piece 10, 10 Contact part 11, 11 Side plate 12, 12 Acting piece 13 Leg piece 17 Cam part 18 Terminal line

Claims (4)

A terminal made of a conductive material supported by a substrate, an actuator rotatably held with respect to the terminal, a contact portion where the terminals face each other, and a pair of operating pieces provided on a side plate forming the contact portion When the cam part of the actuator expands the operating piece, the distance between the contact parts facing each other is widened. A fluorescent tube connector device characterized in that it can be clamped by both contact portions. 2. The fluorescent tube connector device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal has a pair of leg pieces, and the leg pieces extend outward from the bottom of the substrate. 3. The fluorescent tube connector device according to claim 2, further comprising a housing that receives the fluorescent tube and is supported by the substrate, and the housing has a positioning protrusion that extends from the substrate. The fluorescent tube connector device according to claim 3, wherein a terminal line of the fluorescent tube is a straight line, and the operating piece extends to a side opposite to the fluorescent tube.

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