FPC-to-board connector saves board space

Hirose Electric Co., Ltd. has expanded its miniature hybrid flexible printed circuit (FPC) to board connector family with a new design that simplifies mating with greater design flexibility. The miniature BK22 series FPC-to-board connector offers space savings and a high-power capacity, while enabling power savings.

These features enable “OEMs to reduce the size of portable devices without sacrificing power performance,” said Hirose. The connector series also enables power savings and allows up to 100 W of power delivered via USB for fast charging thanks to minimized contact resistance.

(Source: Hirose)

The hybrid BK22 series offers 15-A power and 0.3-A signal contacts, available in four or six signal positions with two power contacts. It has a mated height of 0.7 mm and a depth of 2.3 mm, which makes it well suited for portable devices like audio players, cameras, laptops and gaming consoles, as well as wearable devices such as ear buds, smartwatches and smart glasses.

The BK22 Series features a multi-point dimpled contact design for both the power (6-point) and signal (2-point) contacts for higher reliability and long operation life. The connector design also includes a multi-point metal lock that prevents unintended unmating due to impact and an insert molded header and receptacle, which eliminate gaps between the terminals and housing to prevent solder wicking.

The connector, with two mounting points per contact, shortens the length of electricity flow to minimize heat generation when a high current is used, Hirose said, and the unique board mounting design suppresses heat generation to 30°C or less, even when 15 A is applied.

The FPC-to-board connector series offers a fully armored design to offer enhanced robustness and a reduction in the risk of housing damage from misalignment when mating. Other features include guidance ribs, a wide self-alignment range of ±0.47 mm in the pitch direction and ±0.405 mm in the width direction to simplify mating operation, a rated voltage of 60 VAC/DC and an operating temperature of -55°C to 85°C.