JP2001196131A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To downsize a connector. SOLUTION: A bolt 15 is installed at a female side housing 10 (connector housing of one side), and a nut 35 is installed at a male side housing 30 (connector housing of the other side), and both housings 10, 30 are made to fit by screwed engagement of the bolt 15 and the nut 35. The bolt 15 and the nut 35 are composed of an electron-conductive material, and an electric wire 22 (conductive path) and a terminal parts 45, 46 (conductive path) are connected to the bolt 15 and the nut 35, and the wire 22 and the terminal part 45, 46 become possible to be conductive to each other via the bolt 15 and the nut 35. Since the bolt 15 and the nut 35 as a mating means have been used in common as the electro-conductive path, the number of poles of connector can be reduced and the connector can be downsized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector which uses a bolt and a nut for fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 5-34678 as a connector which is engaged with a bolt and a nut. This means that a bolt is passed through one connector housing, a nut is attached to the other connector housing, and the bolt and nut are screwed together with both connector housings fitted shallowly. By tightening, the two connector housings are brought closer to each other to reach a proper fitting state.

[0003]

As described above, the connector which uses the screwing structure of the bolt and the nut to perform the fitting has a relatively large number of poles and a relatively large fitting resistance between the terminals. There is an advantage that a small operation force is required, but on the other hand, there is a problem that the connector housing is required to have a space for accommodating the bolts and the nuts, resulting in an increase in the size of the connector.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a bolt is provided on one of a pair of connector housings which can be fitted with each other, and a nut is provided on the other, and the pair of connector housings is screwed together with the bolt. In the connector in which the connector housing is fitted, the bolt and the nut are made of a conductive material, and a conductive path is connected to both the bolt and the nut.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a connection portion projecting to a side opposite to a male screw portion screwed to the nut is integrally formed on a head portion of the bolt. The conductive path was connected to the connection part. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the nut-side connector housing has conductivity and the nut can be positioned in a rotation-restricted state with respect to the other connector housing. And a connection member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the other connector housing having the nut is adapted to be mounted on a circuit board and has terminal fittings inserted into through holes of the circuit board. Item 3 is a configuration in which the connection member is integrally formed with a terminal portion that can be inserted into the through hole. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the invention, the connection member is disposed between the nut and the other connector housing, and the nut is tightened with the bolt and the nut. The configuration was such that a contact piece to be pressed was formed.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the conductive path connected to the bolt and the conductive path connected to the nut can be electrically connected to each other via the bolt and the nut. Since the bolt and the nut as the fitting means are also used as the conductive path, the number of poles of the connector can be reduced accordingly. [Invention of Claim 2] Since the connecting means for the conductive path is formed integrally with the bolt, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where a part separate from the bolt is provided as the connecting means. Moreover, since the connection part protrudes to the opposite side from the male screw part,
Even after the bolt is tightened, it is possible to connect the conductive path to the connection.

[Invention of claim 3] Since the connecting member is a part separate from the nut, a ready-made nut can be used. Further, as a means for positioning the nut in the rotation-restricted state with respect to the other connector housing, there is a method of integrating the nut by insert molding. In the present invention, however, the connecting member functions as a connecting means with the conductive path. Not only that, it also has functions of preventing rotation of the nut and positioning the nut, so that insert molding is not required.

[Invention of claim 4] Since the connecting member is integrally formed with the terminal portion as the connecting means for connecting to the circuit board, the number of parts is smaller than when the terminal portion is formed as a separate component from the connecting member. Requires less. [Invention of claim 5] Since the step of connecting the nut and the connecting member and the step of tightening the bolt and the nut are performed simultaneously, the working efficiency is good.

[0010]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of this embodiment includes a pair of male and female housings 10 and 30 that can be fitted together, and both housings 10 and 30.
It has a bolt 15 and a nut 35 for fitting the 30.

The female housing 10 (one connector housing which is a component of the present invention) is made of synthetic resin, and has a plurality of female terminal fittings 11 inserted therein from the rear (right side in FIG. 2). ing. At approximately the center of the female housing 10 in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2), a bolt 15 made of a conductive metal material is penetrated. The bolt 15 is formed by concentrically forming a head 16 and a male screw portion 17 integrally, and has a front end face of the head 16 (FIG. 2).
From the left end surface in FIG. 7), a shaft portion 18 having a circular cross section smaller in diameter than the head portion 16 extends, and a male screw portion 17 is coupled to a front end portion of the shaft portion 18. An externally threaded connecting portion 19 is formed coaxially from the rear end surface of the head 16. The bolt 15 inserts the shaft portion 18 into the through hole 12 of the female housing 10 from behind, locks the front end surface of the head 16 to the hole edge on the rear end side of the through hole 12, and C-ring 2 for external fitting fitted to the part 18
0 is fixed to the female housing 10 by engaging the front end of the through hole 12 with the hole edge on the front end side. The attached bolt 15 is rotatable around the axis with respect to the female side housing 10 by fitting the shaft portion 18 and the through hole 12, and is engaged with the C ring 20 and the head 16. The movement of the female housing 10 in the axial direction is thereby restricted. The male screw portion 17 protrudes forward from the front end surface of the female housing 10 in preparation for screwing with the nut 35. The rear end, the head 16 and the connecting portion 19 of the shaft 18 are exposed rearward from the rear end of the female housing 10.

An electric wire 22 (a conductive path, which is a component of the present invention) is connected to a connecting portion 19 of the bolt 15 via a conductive connecting terminal 21. Connection terminal 21
Has a connection hole (not shown) externally fitted to the connection portion 19 and a barrel portion 21 </ b> A for crimping the electric wire 22.
The connection terminal 21 to which the electric wire 22 is crimped is fitted into the connection portion 19, a nut 23 is screwed into the connection portion 19, and by tightening the nut 23, the electric wire 22 is connected to the connection terminal 21.
Is electrically connected to the bolt 15 via the. The connection between the connection terminal 21 and the bolt 15 is protected by an insulating rubber cover 24.

The male housing 30 (the other connector housing which is a component of the present invention) is made of synthetic resin, and has a plurality of male terminal fittings 31 mounted therein by insert molding or press fitting. Male terminal fitting 3
1 has an L-shape when viewed from the side, and its laterally straight portion projects into the fitting recess 30A of the male housing 30 as a terminal contact portion 31A connected to the female terminal fitting 11, The downward straight portion is exposed to the rear (left side in FIGS. 4 and 6) of the male housing 30 as a board contact portion 31B that is inserted into a through hole of a circuit board (not shown) and connected by soldering.

The width direction of the male housing 30 (FIG. 1)
A nut 35 made of a conductive metal material is attached via a connecting member 36 at a substantially central position in the vertical direction in FIG. The nut 35 is a ready-made product, has a female screw hole 35A formed at the center, and has a hexagonal outer periphery. The connecting member 36 is formed by punching a conductive metal plate material into a predetermined shape by pressing and then bending the conductive metal plate material.
5, 46 (a conductive path that is a constituent feature of the present invention).

The holding section 37 includes a main body section 39 having a wall shape,
Three pairs of arm portions 40A, 40B, 4 projecting forward (to the right in FIG. 6) from both right and left side edges of the main body portion 39.
0C, and a pair of left and right receiving portions 41 protruding forward from the lower edge of the main body portion 39. The body 3 has a nut 3
Bolt holes 42 substantially concentric with the female screw holes 35A of No. 5
Are formed. Further, the arm portions 40A, 40B, 4
The protruding length of 0C is substantially the same as the axial thickness of the nut 35, and the interval between the left and right arms 40A, 40B, 40C is such that one of the corners 35B of the outer periphery of the nut 35 is directed downward. Left and right outer surfaces 3 of the nut 35 in the state
The dimensions are almost the same as the dimensions between 5C. In addition, the receiving portion 41 has the inclined outer lower surface 3 connected to the corner portion 35B in a state where the corner portion 35B of the nut 35 faces directly downward.
5D is slanted so that 5D can be placed in close contact. A nut 35 is fitted into the holding portion 37 from above, so that the nut 35 is fitted to the arm portion 40A, 40B, 40C and the receiving portion 4.
By engaging with 1, the connection member 36 is held in a rotation-restricted state.

Further, three pairs of upper and lower arms 40A, 40A are provided.
B and 40C, a pair of contact pieces 43 are formed at the distal end of the central stage arm portion 40B by bending inward (in a direction toward each other's arm portion 40B). The contact piece 43 is positioned so as to be sandwiched between the nut 35 and the rear end face (the right end face in FIG. 6) of the male housing 30 in a state where the nut 35 and the connecting member 36 are assembled to the male housing 30. In a state before being assembled to the male housing 30, the nut 35 fitted to the holding portion 37 is connected to the main body 39 and the contact piece 43.
Is positioned between the connecting member 36 and the connecting member 36 in such a manner that play in the axial direction is restricted.

Further, a mounting piece 44 is formed at the tip of the pair of arms 10A and 40C located at the uppermost and lowermost stages by bending outward in the left-right direction. The mounting piece 44 is used for a male housing 3 to be described later.
It functions as means for assembling the connection member 36 to the No. 0 mounting portion 13. The four terminal portions 45 and 46 extend from the upper edge of the main body 39 and one from the lower edge of the main body 39.
The terminal portion 45 extending from the upper end edge of the main body portion 39 includes a board contact portion 45B extending downward (in a direction toward the circuit board) from the extending end of the horizontal portion 45A, and has an L-shape as a whole. The board contact portion 45B is inserted into the through hole. The length of the horizontal portion 45A of the two terminal portions 45 located at the left and right ends of the four terminal portions 45 is longer than the horizontal portion 45A of the two terminal portions 45 located at the center side. ing. Further, the terminal portion 46 extending from the lower edge of the main body portion 39 protrudes downward flush with the main body portion 39,
The protruding end is inserted into the through hole.

The male housing 30 has a mounting portion 13 for mounting the connecting member 36. The mounting portion 13 is formed integrally with the rear end surface of the male housing 30, and has a pair of left and right ribs 13A extending in the vertical direction. The groove between the rib 13A and the male housing 30 is a mounting groove 13B into which the mounting piece 44 of the connecting member 36 is tightly fitted or press-fitted. A pair of stoppers 13C is formed at the upper end of the rib 13A so as to protrude inward (toward the rib 13A on the other side).

The connection member 36 holding the nut 35 is attached to the attachment portion 13 by fitting the attachment piece 44 into the attachment groove 13B from below. In the mounted state, the uppermost arm portion 40 is attached to the stopper 13C.
When the upper surface of A comes into contact, the connection member 36 and the nut 35 are positioned in the vertical direction with respect to the male housing 30, and the stopper 13C comes into contact with the oblique outer upper surface 35E of the nut 35 from above. The connection member 36 and the male housing 3 are opposed to each other at a close distance.
The lifting of the nut 35 with respect to 0 (separation from the connecting member 36) is prevented. Further, the bolt hole 13D formed in the mounting portion 13 substantially coaxially corresponds with the female screw hole 35A of the nut 35.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In the female housing 10, the female terminal fitting 11 and the bolt 15
In the male housing 30, the male terminal fitting 31, the nut 35, and the connecting member 36 are assembled. In this state, the two housings 10 and 30 are fitted shallowly, and the male screw portion 17 of the bolt 15 is screwed into the female screw hole 35A of the nut 35. Then, when a jig (not shown) is fitted to the head 16 of the bolt 15 and the bolt 15 is rotated, the housings 10 and 30 are pulled together, and a normal fitting state is reached. Thus, the fitting of the two housings 10, 30 is completed.

With the tightening operation of the bolt 15 and the nut 35, the connecting member 3
6 is sandwiched between the nut 35 and the rear end face of the male housing 30, and the contact piece 43 is strongly contacted with the nut 35, so that the nut 35 and the terminal portions 45, 46 becomes conductive. After the two housings 10 and 30 are fitted together, the connection terminal 21 is fitted to the connection portion 19 of the bolt 15 and fixed by the nut 23. Thereby, the electric wire 2 crimped to the connection terminal 21
2 and the bolt 15 become conductive. When the electric wires and the bolts 15 are connected, the resin cover 47 is attached to the rear end surface of the female housing 10. The resin cover 47 covers and protects a connection portion between the bolt 15 and the electric wire 22 and an extended portion of the electric wire 11A connected to the female terminal fitting 11.

In the present embodiment, the electric wires 22 connected to the bolts 15 and the terminals 45 and 46 connected to the nut 35 are used.
Can be connected to each other via the bolt 15 and the nut 35. That is, the bolt 15 and the nut 3 as fitting means
5 is also used as a conductive path.
The number of poles of the connector can be reduced, and the size of the connector can be reduced. In addition, as a means for connecting the bolt 15 to the electric wire 22, the connecting portion 19 is connected to the bolt 1
5, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where a part separate from the bolt is provided as the connection means.

Further, since the connecting portion 19 protrudes to the opposite side from the male screw portion 17, the electric wire 22 can be connected to the connecting portion 19 after the bolt 15 is tightened. That is,
Since the bolt 15 can be rotated in a state where the electric wire 22 is not connected, the electric wire 22 and the connection terminal 21 do not become an obstacle when the bolt 15 is rotated. Further, since the connecting member 36 is a part separate from the nut 35, a ready-made nut can be used. The nut 35 is connected to the male housing 3.
As a means for positioning in the rotation-restricted state with respect to 0, there is a method of integrating the nut 35 by insert molding, but in the present embodiment, the connecting member 36 not only functions as a connecting means with the conductive path, Since it also has the function of preventing the rotation of the nut 35 and positioning, it is not necessary to perform insert molding.

Also, since the terminal portions 45 and 46, which are means for connecting to the circuit board, are formed integrally with the connecting member 36, the number of components is smaller than when the terminal portion is a separate component from the connecting member. Less is needed. Further, the contact piece 4 is attached to the connection member 36.
By forming 3, the step of connecting the nut 35 and the connecting member 36 and the step of tightening the bolt 15 and the nut 35 are performed at the same time, so that the working efficiency is good. [Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, one of the connector housings is a board connector housing. However, the present invention can be applied to a case other than the board connector housing. (2) In the above embodiment, a male screw-shaped connection portion is integrally formed on the head of the bolt as a connection means with the conductive path on the bolt side. However, according to the present invention, a connection member that is a separate component from the bolt is used. This may be assembled to the bolt.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, a connecting member as a separate component from the nut is used as a means for connecting to the conductive path on the nut side. However, according to the present invention, the connecting portion is formed integrally with the nut. Is also good. (4) In the above embodiment, the other connector housing was formed alone without inserting a nut. However, according to the present invention, the nut and the other connector housing may be integrated by insert molding. (5) In the above embodiment, the terminal portion is formed integrally with the connection member. However, according to the present invention, a terminal separate from the connection member is used, and the terminal is connected to the connection member and fitted into the through hole. It may be.

(6) In the above embodiment, the conductive path connected to the nut is inserted into the through hole of the circuit board. However, according to the present invention, another form of conductive path such as an electric wire is connected to the nut. The connection may be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a male housing according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a female housing.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of connection terminals and electric wires.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an assembling process.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state where assembly is completed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a male housing.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the female housing.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a male housing.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a connection member, a nut, and a mounting portion.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the connection member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female housing (one connector housing) 15 ... Bolt 16 ... Head 17 ... Male screw part 19 ... Connection part 22 ... Electric wire (conductive path on bolt side) 30 ... Male housing (other connector housing) 35 ... Nut 36 ... Connection member 43 ... Contact piece 45, 46 ... Terminal part (Nut side conductive path)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A connector in which a bolt is provided on one of a pair of connector housings that can be fitted together and a nut is provided on the other, and the pair of connector housings are fitted by screwing the bolt and the nut. The bolt and the nut are made of a conductive material,
A conductive path is connected to both the bolt and the nut. 2. A connecting portion projecting to a side opposite to a male screw portion screwed to the nut is integrally formed on a head portion of the bolt, and the conductive path is connected to the connecting portion. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The connector housing on the nut side is provided with a connection member having conductivity and capable of positioning the nut in a rotation-restricted state with respect to the other connector housing. The connector according to claim 1. 4. The connector connector according to claim 3, wherein said other connector housing having said nut is adapted to be attached to a circuit board, and further comprises a terminal fitting inserted into a through hole of said circuit board. A connector, wherein a terminal portion that can be inserted into the through hole is integrally formed with the connection member. 5. The contact member is provided between the nut and the other connector housing, and has a contact piece that is pressed against the nut by tightening the bolt and the nut. The connector according to claim 3 or 4, wherein