Hybrid FPC-to-board connector reduces mounting space by up to 40%

Hirose has released a high-power hybrid FPC-to-board connector that supports up to 15A in a space-saving housing that decreases the PCB mounting space by up to 40%. Developed for mobile devices with built-in battery or USB connections, the BM50 Series significantly reduces the area used inside the device and the size of the customer's end products. Also, the connector provides superior design flexibility. Employing an FPC to connect the USB to the PCB, the USB can be placed anywhere within the end product's design.

With two mounting points per contact, the connector design shortens the length of electricity flow to minimise heat generation when a high current is used. This unique board mounting design suppresses heat generation to 30C or less, even when 15A is applied. Minimised contact resistance facilitates higher power and enables up to 100W of power to be delivered through USB for fast charging.

The fully armoured design covers both ends of the housing with metal for enhanced robustness and significantly reduces the risk of housing damage from misalignment when mating. A wide self-alignment range of ±0.24mm in the pitch direction and ±0.2mm in the width direction, together with guidance ribs, delivers smooth mating operation.

The connector provides a multi-point dimpled contact design for the power (four-point) and signal (two-point) contacts to ensure higher reliability and long operation life. A multi-point metal lock stops unintended unmating due to impact.

"As power consumption increases along with advances in smartphone functionality, the capacity and mounting space of the installed battery has also increased. At the same time, demand for smaller, thinner smartphones is on the rise, making it difficult to balance both device size reduction and larger batteries. Larger battery capacity results in longer charging times, and demand for fast charging is on the rise," said Mark Kojak, VP of Sales and Marketing for Hirose Electric USA. "For these reasons, connectors used for battery connections are required to be small and have high current supply capacity. Hirose has developed the BM50 Series to meet these demands."

With a height of only 0.6mm and a depth of 2mm when mated, the connector is typically used in smartphones and emerging applications such as wearable devices.