US 12,113,308 B2
Terminal-equipped flexible circuit board and connector-equipped flexible circuit board
Hideo Takahashi, Mie (JP); and Yasuo Omori, Mie (JP)
Assigned to AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., Mie (JP); SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD., Mie (JP); and SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., Osaka (JP)
Appl. No. 17/615,980
Filed by AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., Mie (JP); SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD., Mie (JP); and SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Jun. 10, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/022799
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 2, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/255812, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 24, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-112788 (JP), filed on Jun. 18, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0328993 A1, Oct. 13, 2022
Int. Cl. H01R 12/77 (2011.01); H01R 12/59 (2011.01); H05K 1/02 (2006.01); H05K 1/11 (2006.01)
CPC H01R 12/777 (2013.01) [H01R 12/59 (2013.01); H05K 1/028 (2013.01); H05K 1/118 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A terminal-equipped flexible circuit board provided with a flexible circuit board that is flexible and a plurality of terminals,
wherein the flexible circuit board extends in a longitudinal direction, the flexible circuit board includes a plurality of conductive paths that are formed on an upper or lower surface of the flexible circuit board,
the plurality of terminals each include a conductive path connection portion that is connected to a conductive path among the plurality of conductive paths and a terminal connection portion that extends in an extending direction from the conductive path connection portion and is connected to a partner terminal,
the plurality of terminals are arranged on the flexible circuit board in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the flexible circuit board intersects the extending direction of the plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals are arranged side by side at both side edges along the longitudinal direction of the flexible circuit board,
the flexible circuit board includes:
a first mountain fold line that extends from a front end portion of the flexible circuit board to a position rearward of the plurality of terminals in the longitudinal direction, at a central position in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the upper surface being folded into a protruding shape along the first mountain fold line;
a first valley fold line that extends in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction at a position rearward of a rear end portion of the first mountain fold line, the upper surface being folded into a recessed shape along the first valley fold line;
a second mountain fold line and a third mountain fold line that respectively extend from the rear end portion of the first mountain fold line to intersections of both side edges of the flexible circuit board and the first valley fold line, and
a second valley fold line that extends from the rear end portion of the first mountain fold line to one side edge of the flexible circuit board in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and
the plurality of terminals are arranged in a plurality of levels in a state in which the flexible circuit board is folded along the first mountain fold line, the second mountain fold line, the third mountain fold line, the first valley fold line, and the second valley fold line.