JP2016046131A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease operation force when fitting a connector.SOLUTION: A connector C is equipped with: a male terminal 30; a male connector housing 11 which hols the male terminal 30; a female terminal 70 in which the male terminal 30 can be inserted, and which has an elastic contact piece 75 contacted with the inserted male terminal 30; and a female connector housing 51 which holds the female terminal 70. The male connector housing 11 is provided with a pressing portion 25 which energizes the elastic contact piece 75 toward the male terminal 30 to contact the elastic contact piece 75 with the male terminal 30 with predetermined contact pressure, when both connector housings 11 and 51 reach normal fitting positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  For example, in a connector used in a wire harness for an automobile, an elastic contact piece provided on the female terminal is elastically applied to the male terminal with a predetermined contact pressure in order to maintain the connection stability between the female terminal and the male terminal. Designed to touch. Conventionally, the male terminal has been inserted so as to spread the elastic contact piece of the female terminal, so that when the connector is fitted, insertion resistance due to friction with the elastic contact piece acts on the male terminal. There has been a concern that the fitting operation becomes difficult due to the insertion resistance.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-8797 (Patent Document 1 below) describes a connector that inserts a male terminal with a low operating force by pressing down an elastic contact piece when the male terminal is inserted. In this connector, at the rear end portion of each elastic contact piece of the female terminal, the elastic contact piece is connected by a connecting piece, and a pressed portion is provided at the center of the connecting piece. On the other hand, the spacer that is inserted into the connector housing from the side perpendicular to the insertion direction of the female terminal is provided with a pressing portion that presses the pressed portion of the female terminal. Then, by inserting the spacer into the connector housing, the pressing portion comes into surface contact with the pressed portion, and the elastic contact piece is pressed down. In this state, the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, so that the male terminal is inserted with low force with almost no contact with the elastic contact piece. Then, with the male terminal fully inserted, the pressing to the pressed part by the pressing part is released by moving the spacer, the elastic contact piece is elastically restored and strongly contacts the male terminal, Contact pressure between the female terminal and the male terminal can be ensured.

JP 2002-8797 A

  However, in a connector such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-8797 (the above-mentioned Patent Document 1), the number of parts such as spacers and connecting pieces increases, and the number of work steps also increases. Further, since the elastic contact pieces are connected to each other by the connecting piece, insulation between the terminals cannot be maintained, and it cannot be used for all types of connectors.

  The connector disclosed in the present specification includes a male terminal, a male connector housing that holds the male terminal, a female terminal that has an elastic contact piece that can be inserted into the male terminal and that contacts the male terminal. A female connector housing for holding the female terminal, wherein the male connector housing has the elastic contact piece directed toward the male terminal when the two connector housings reach a proper fitting position. A pressing portion is provided to bring the elastic contact piece into contact with the male terminal with a predetermined contact pressure by urging.

  According to such a configuration, at least when the tip of the male terminal passes through the contact portion of the female terminal from the start of fitting, the elastic contact piece is not pushed up, and a predetermined distance is provided between the male terminal and the female terminal. Since no contact pressure exists, the operating force for inserting the male terminal can be reduced compared to the case where a predetermined contact pressure is present from the beginning. On the other hand, at the time of normal fitting, the pressing portion biases the elastic contact piece toward the male terminal, so that contact pressure is generated between the male terminal and the connection between the male terminal and the female terminal is stabilized. It will be.

As an embodiment of the connector disclosed in this specification, the following configuration may be adopted.
Before the two connector housings reach the proper mating position, the elastic contact piece is not in contact with the male terminal when the elastic contact piece is not biased by the pressing portion. It is good also as composition which has.
According to such a configuration, the elastic contact piece can pass through the elastic contact piece without contacting the elastic contact piece before the normal fitting position is reached. Since no contact pressure is generated between the piece and the male terminal, the fitting operation force can be reduced.

The male terminal has a tabular tab portion, and the female terminal has a receiving projection for receiving the tab portion pressed by the elastic contact piece when the two connector housings reach a proper fitting position. It is good also as a structure provided.
According to such a configuration, the tab portion can be sandwiched between the elastic contact piece and the receiving projection when normal fitting is achieved, and the connection is stabilized.

The elastic contact piece may be provided with a blade portion that contacts the pressing portion on a side thereof, and the pressing portion may contact both the blade portion and the elastic contact piece.
According to such a configuration, since the push-up portion comes into contact with both the blade portion and the elastic contact piece, it is possible to disperse a force necessary for biasing.

The male connector housing may include a hood portion that can fit the fitting portion of the female connector housing, and the pressing portion may be provided in the hood portion.
According to such a structure, since a press part will be provided in a food | hood part, it will not be exposed outside before fitting. Therefore, there is no possibility that the pressing portion interferes with other members and is damaged.

A front retainer for fixing the male terminal from the connection side with the female terminal can be attached to the male connector housing, and the pressing portion may be provided on the front retainer.
According to such a configuration, even when the front retainer is used, the positioning of the front retainer and the pressing portion becomes unnecessary by providing the pressing portion on the front retainer.

  The said press part is good also as a structure provided in the fitting surface with the said female connector housing of the said male connector housing.

  According to the connector disclosed in this specification, the operating force at the time of fitting can be reduced.

Sectional drawing which shows the state before the fitting of the female connector and male connector in Embodiment 1 Sectional drawing which shows the state during fitting of a female connector and a male connector Sectional drawing which shows the state after a regular fitting with a female connector and a male connector Sectional drawing which shows the state before the fitting of the female connector and male connector in Embodiment 2 Sectional drawing which shows the state during fitting of a female connector and a male connector Sectional drawing which shows the state after a regular fitting with a female connector and a male connector Plan view of female terminal of embodiment 3

<Embodiment 1>
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector C of this embodiment includes a male connector 10 and a female connector 50 that is fitted to the male connector 10. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. 1, the front-back direction is based on the horizontal direction in FIG. 1, and the side on which the male connector 10 and the female connector 50 are fitted together is the front side. Will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the male connector 10 includes a male connector housing 11 and male terminals 30 accommodated in the male connector housing 11.
The male terminal 30 is formed by pressing a conductive metal plate material, includes a wide flat tab portion 31 extending in the front-rear direction, and is connected to an electric wire (not shown).

  The male connector housing 11 is made of synthetic resin, and a plurality of male terminals 30 are accommodated in the male connector housing 11. A hood portion 15 that can be externally fitted to the female connector housing 51 of the female connector 50 is formed on the front surface of the male-side main body portion 13. The front surface of the male main body portion 13 (the back end surface of the hood portion 15) serves as the male fitting surface 13A. A tab portion 31 of the male terminal 30 projects forward from the male-side fitting surface 13A into the hood portion 15. The male terminal 30 is retained by the retainer 20 with respect to the male side main body portion 13.

  The retainer 20 is made of synthetic resin and includes a locking portion 21 for locking to the male main body portion 13 of the male connector housing 11. The retainer 20 is inserted from the opening on the front side of the hood portion 15 after the male terminal 30 is inserted into the male connector housing 11, and comes into contact with the rear surface 13 </ b> A between the male sides, so that the locking portion 21 is attached to the male side main body portion 13. Locked. In this manner, the retainer 20 is fixed to the male connector housing 11, so that the male terminal 30 is prevented from being detached from the male connector housing 11. The male terminal 30 protrudes into the hood portion 15 by passing through the through hole 23 provided in the retainer 20.

  A plate-like pressing piece 25 is integrally provided below the through hole 23 of the retainer 20. Thus, by providing the pressing piece 25 integrally with the retainer 20, the positional relationship with the tab portion 31 is determined, and positioning at the time of fitting with the female terminal 70 becomes unnecessary. Moreover, since the pressing piece 25 is contained in the hood part 15 with the male terminal 30, it does not interfere with other members. The pressing piece 25 has substantially the same width as the tab portion 31. The length dimension of the pressing piece 25 is shorter than the tab portion 31, and is a length that can support a contact surface 75B of an elastic contact piece 75 described later when the male connector 10 and the female connector 50 are properly fitted. Further, the pressing piece 25 has an inclined surface 25A whose lower side is longer than the upper side at the tip thereof, so that it can easily enter the lower side of the elastic contact piece 75.

The female connector 50 includes a female terminal 70 connected to the end of the electric wire W and a female connector housing 51 in which the female terminal 70 is accommodated.
The female connector housing 51 is adapted to fit into the hood portion 15 of the male connector housing 11. Although not shown, the female connector housing 51 and the male connector housing 11 are locked in a fitted state by a lock mechanism provided across the connector housings 51 and 11.

  A plurality of cavities 53 that open in the front-rear direction are formed inside the female connector housing 51, and the female terminals 70 are received from the rear end openings of the cavities 53. An opening 55 that opens forward is provided at the front end of the cavity 53. The opening 55 is open to the extent that almost the entire front surface of the connecting tube portion 71 of the female terminal 70 described later is exposed. When the female connector housing 51 is fitted into the hood 15, as shown in FIG. 3, the tab portion 31 and the pressing piece 25 of the male terminal 30 pass through the opening 55 and the connecting tube portion of the female terminal 70 described later. 71 is inserted. The female connector housing 51 is formed with a lance 57 that locks the female terminal 70 accommodated in the cavity 53.

  The female terminal 70 is formed by pressing a conductive metal plate material, and is provided continuously to the connection cylinder part 71 into which the tab part 31 of the male terminal 30 is inserted, and the rear of the connection cylinder part 71. The electric wire connection part 73 is provided.

  The wire connection portion 73 includes a wire barrel portion 73A that is crimped to the core wire exposed at the end of the wire W, and an insulation barrel portion 73B that is crimped to the insulation coating of the wire W. The female terminal 70 is electrically connected to the electric wire W by crimping the portion 73A and the insulation barrel portion 73B to the electric wire W.

  In addition, the connecting tube portion 71 has a substantially rectangular tube shape, and an elastic contact piece 75 and a bead portion 77 facing the elastic contact piece 75 are provided inside the connecting tube portion 71. The bead portion 77 is formed by knocking out the top surface 71 </ b> A of the connection cylinder portion 71. The elastic contact piece 75 is formed by slitting the bottom surface 71 </ b> B of the connecting cylinder portion 71 to be a cantilever piece, and is elastically deformable in the vertical direction. Is provided with a contact portion 75A that bulges upward. The dimension in the natural state between the contact part 75 </ b> A and the bead part 77 is larger than the plate thickness dimension of the tab part 31 of the male terminal 30. Further, a contact surface 75 </ b> B that comes into contact with the pressing piece 25 is provided on the lower surface of the distal end portion of the elastic contact piece 75.

The connector of the present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently.
As shown in FIG. 1, the male connector 10 and the female connector 50 are arranged facing each other, and the female connector 50 is inserted into the hood portion 15 of the male connector housing 11 to be fitted. Here, when about half of the female connector housing 51 is inserted into the hood 15, the tip of the tab portion 31 of the male terminal 30 reaches the opening 55 of the female connector housing 51. Then, the male terminal 30 is inserted into the connecting tube portion 71 of the female terminal 70 along the taper provided in the opening 55. At this time, since the dimension in the natural state between the contact part 75A and the bead part 77 is larger than the plate thickness dimension of the tab part 31 of the male terminal 30, the tab part 31 has the elastic contact piece 75. The tab portion 31 is inserted into the connecting cylinder portion 71 with a small insertion force without receiving contact pressure.

  When the fitting further proceeds, the pressing piece 25 is inserted into the connecting tube portion 71 along the taper provided in the opening 55 of the female connector housing 51. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressing piece 25 pushes up the elastic contact piece 75 to the bead portion 77 side while entering the lower side of the elastic contact piece 75 by the inclined surface 25A. As shown in FIG. 3, at the time of regular fitting, the pressing piece 25 abuts against the contact surface 75 </ b> B, thereby biasing the elastic contact piece 75 toward the male terminal 30. A predetermined contact pressure is generated between them. That is, when the elastic contact piece 75 is pushed upward (by the bead portion 77) by the pressing piece 25, the male terminal 30 is sandwiched between the contact portion 75A and the bead portion 77 of the elastic contact piece 75 and has a predetermined contact pressure. Electrically connected in the state.

Thus, in this embodiment, at least when the tip of the male terminal 30 passes through the contact portion 75A of the female terminal 70 from the start of fitting, the male terminal 30 can pass without contacting the elastic contact piece 75. Therefore, since frictional resistance is not generated between the elastic contact piece 75 and the male terminal 30, the fitting operation force can be reduced. On the other hand, at the time of normal fitting, the pressing piece 25 urges the elastic contact piece 75 toward the male terminal 30, whereby the male terminal 30 is sandwiched between the contact portion 75 </ b> A and the bead portion 77 of the elastic contact piece 75, and predetermined Thus, the connection between the male terminal 30 and the female terminal 70 becomes stable.
<Embodiment 2>
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector C1 of the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the retainer 20 that locks the male terminal 30 is not used. In addition, about the member and site | part which have the same function as Embodiment 1, description is abbreviate | omitted or simplified by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the connector C <b> 1 of this embodiment includes a male connector 110 and a female connector 50 that is fitted to the male connector 10. The male connector 110 includes a male connector housing 111 and male terminals 30 accommodated in the male connector housing 111. The male terminal 30 is locked to the male connector housing 111 by a locking structure (not shown).

  The tab portion 31 of the male terminal 30 protrudes forward from the male side fitting surface 113A of the male side main body portion 113 of the male connector housing 111. A pressing piece 117 is provided integrally with the male housing 111 below the protruding position of the tab portion 31 of the male side fitting surface 113A. The structure of the pressing piece 117 is the same as that of the pressing piece 25 according to the first embodiment except for the location where it is provided.

  As in the first embodiment, at least when the tip of the male terminal 30 passes through the contact portion 75A of the female terminal 70 from the start of fitting, the male terminal 30 can pass without contacting the elastic contact piece 75. Therefore, since frictional resistance is not generated between the elastic contact piece 75 and the male terminal 30, the fitting operation force can be reduced. On the other hand, at the time of normal fitting, the pressing piece 117 biases the elastic contact piece 75 toward the male terminal 30, whereby the male terminal 30 is sandwiched between the contact portion 75 </ b> A and the bead portion 77 of the elastic contact piece 75, Thus, the connection between the male terminal 30 and the female terminal 70 becomes stable.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
The connector of this embodiment is different from that of Embodiment 1 in that the female terminal 270 is provided with blades. The third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the shapes of the female terminal 270 and the pressing piece 225, and thus illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  The female terminal 270 is formed by pressing a conductive metal plate material, and a connecting cylinder part 271 into which the tab part 31 of the male terminal 30 is inserted, and a rear side of the connecting cylinder part 271. And an electric wire connecting portion 73 provided in a row.

  The connecting tube portion 271 has a substantially rectangular tube shape, and an elastic contact piece 275 and a bead portion 77 facing the elastic contact piece 275 are provided inside the connecting tube portion 271. The elastic contact piece 275 is formed by making a slit in the bottom surface 271B of the connection cylinder portion 271 to form a cantilever piece, and a blade portion 279 is provided at the tip thereof. The blade part 279 is formed by widening the tip part of the elastic contact piece 275 on both sides. The lower surface of the distal end portion of the elastic contact piece 275 and the lower surface of the blade portion 279 are contact surfaces 279A that come into contact with the pressing piece 225. In the connection cylinder part 271, the side wall of the front-end | tip part is notched so that the blade | wing part 279 can move up and down.

  The plate-like pressing piece 225 provided on the retainer 220 is slightly wider than the tab portion 31 and slightly narrower than the width dimension of the blade portion 279. Similar to the first embodiment, the length of the pressing piece 225 is shorter than the tab portion 31, and supports the elastic contact piece 275 and the contact surface 279A of the blade portion 279 when the male connector 10 and the female connector 50 are properly fitted. The length is possible. In addition, the pressing piece 225 has an inclined surface 225 </ b> A having a shape in which the lower side is longer than the upper side at the tip part.

  In this embodiment, the pressing piece 225 urges the blade portion 279 and the elastic contact piece 275 toward the male terminal 30 during normal fitting. At this time, the contact surface 279A is provided across the elastic contact piece 275 and the blade portion 279, and the contact area between the contact surface 279A and the pressing piece 225 is large, so that a force necessary for biasing is dispersed. .

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in the present specification is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings, and includes, for example, the following various aspects.
(1) In the above embodiment, the connecting cylinder parts 71, 171 and 271 are provided with the bead part 77, but the male terminal 30 is provided on the top surfaces 71A and 271A of the contact cylinder parts 71 and 271 without providing the bead part. It may come into contact.

(2) Although the hood portion 15 is provided in the male connector 10 in the above embodiment, the hood portion 15 may not be provided, and the male terminal 30 and the pressing pieces 25, 117, and 225 may be exposed to the outside.

(3) In the above embodiment, the male terminal 30 has the flat tab portion 31, but may have another shape.

(4) In the above embodiment, the dimension between the bead part 77 and the contact part 75A is larger than the plate thickness dimension of the tab part 31, but may be slightly smaller than the plate thickness dimension.

(5) In the above embodiment, the elastic contact pieces 75 and 275 are formed by providing slits on the bottom surface 71B. However, as long as the pressing pieces 25, 117, and 225 can be inserted, other shapes may be used. good.

(6) In Embodiment 3 described above, the blade portion 279 is provided at the tip of the elastic contact piece 275, but may be provided at the center position of the elastic contact piece. In this case, the position where the pressing piece abuts on the elastic contact piece and the position where the pressing piece abuts on the blade part are shifted, and the timing of contact may be matched.

(7) In each of the above-described embodiments, the male terminal is inserted in the mating process while lightly contacting with each other until the male terminal reaches the normal mating position. Then, the pressing portion may reach the normal fitting position and urge the elastic contact piece toward the male terminal to bring the elastic contact piece into contact with the male terminal with a predetermined contact pressure.

C, C1 ... Connector 10 ... Male connector 11 ... Male connector housing 15 ... Hood part 20 ... Retainer 25, 117, 225 ... Pressing piece (pressing part)
25A, 225A ... inclined surface 30 ... male terminal 31 ... tab part 50 ... female connector 51 ... female connector housing 70, 270 ... female terminal 71, 271 ... connection tube part 73 ... electric wire connection part 75 ... elastic connection piece 77 ... bead part (Receiving protrusion)

Claims (7)

A male terminal, a male connector housing that holds the male terminal, a female terminal having an elastic contact piece that can be inserted into the male terminal and that contacts the male terminal, and a female connector housing that holds the female terminal A connector comprising:
The male connector housing has a predetermined contact with the male terminal by urging the elastic contact piece toward the male terminal when the two connector housings reach a proper fitting position. A connector provided with a pressing part to be brought into contact with pressure.   Before the two connector housings reach the proper mating position, the elastic contact piece is not in contact with the male terminal when the elastic contact piece is not biased by the pressing portion. The connector according to claim 1.   The male terminal has a tabular tab portion, and the female terminal has a receiving projection for receiving the tab portion pressed by the elastic contact piece when the two connector housings reach a proper fitting position. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector is provided. The elastic contact piece is provided with a blade portion that abuts on the side of the pressing portion,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressing portion contacts both the blade portion and the elastic contact piece.   The said male connector housing is provided with the hood part which can externally fit the fitting part of the said female connector housing, The said press part is provided in this hood part, The any one of Claims 1-4. Connector described in. A front retainer for fixing the male terminal from the connection side with the female terminal can be attached to the male connector housing,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pressing portion is provided on the front retainer. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portion is provided on a fitting surface of the male connector housing with the female connector housing.

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