JP2002056922A - Connector and solar battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a weatherproof connector with a wide utilization range. SOLUTION: The connector body fitted at an end of a wire 1 to electrically connect wires 1 by male-female fitting in free detachment is coated with a case 5 for the whole body a it is kept connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector as an electrical connector connected to an end of an electric wire and electrically connecting the electric wires by male and female fitting, and a solar cell for converting sunlight into power generation energy. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A male / female connector is widely used as an electrical connector for electrically connecting electric wires in a detachable manner. This type of connector consists of a male structure with pins protruding from the housing and a female structure with a jack covered by the housing. It can be separated and used, for example, for connection of a lead wire of a solar cell and connection of wiring in an electric system of a vehicle.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional connectors, connectors used outdoors and in vehicles are subjected to severe environments such as wind, rain, heat, light and vibration. In such an environment, a connector may be exposed to water from the abutting part of the male housing and the female housing, causing water to enter the live part, resulting in poor insulation, or a male housing or a female housing. An unexpected load is applied to the housing, the joint between the pin and jack is loosened, the electrical resistance increases, and heat is generated. There was a problem.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem.
It is to obtain a connector with a wide range of use having a waterproof function, to improve the ease of handling of the connector, and to be able to cope with various construction methods. An object of the present invention is to obtain a highly reliable solar cell having a lead wire connection portion.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is provided at an end of an electric wire, which electrically connects the electric wires so that the electric wires can be separated from each other by male and female fitting. Means is provided for a connector comprising a protruding male structure and a female structure having a jack covered by a housing, and having a case which covers the entire outside of the connected male structure and female structure.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is to provide the case according to the first aspect, wherein the case is provided with a pull-out preventing structure for maintaining a fitting state between the male structure and the female structure. Is adopted.

In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention relates to the above-mentioned means, wherein the case is provided such that the electric wire portion of the male structure side and the electric wire portion of the female structure side are in close contact with the electric wire. A means for providing a waterproof structure that performs a watertight function is adopted.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 4 is directed to a removal preventing structure in the means according to claim 2;
Means for providing a waterproof function of preventing water from entering from the electric wire side is adopted.

In order to achieve the above object, a fifth aspect of the present invention employs means in which the case in any one of the first to fourth aspects is made of a flame-retardant material.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the case of the above-mentioned means is provided by connecting the case substantially perpendicular to the joint surface between the male structure and the female structure. Means for halving the surface so that it can be detachably joined to the surface is adopted.

In order to achieve the above object, a seventh aspect of the present invention is to provide the above-mentioned means according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the case is substantially perpendicular to the joint surface between the male structure and the female structure. Means of making a substantially symmetrical structure connected by a hinge so that it can be detachably joined at the surface is adopted.

In order to achieve the above object, an eighth aspect of the present invention employs means for providing the connector according to any one of the first to fifth aspects as a connection portion of a lead wire of a solar cell.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 The present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 relates to a connector as an electric connector suitable for use in a place under a severe environment such as outdoors or a vehicle. This connector is provided at an end of an electric wire 1 and has a connector main body 4 having a male structure 2 and a female structure 3 for electrically connecting the electric wires 1 so that the electric wires 1 can be separated from each other by male and female fitting. And a case 5 covering the entire outside. The male structure 2 which constitutes one of the connector main bodies 4 has a housing 6 integrated with one end of the electric wire 1 and a pin 7 made of a conductive material joined to a joint surface 8.
And the female structure 3 which constitutes the other
Is a configuration in which a housing 9 integrated with the electric wire 1 is covered with a jack 10 made of a conductive material (see FIG. 6). An insertion port for the jack 10 is formed on the joint surface 8 of the housing 9.

Each of the housings 6 and 9 is formed of an insulating material, and the conductor of the electric wire 1 is connected to the pins 7 and the jack 10 in the housings 6 and 9, and the connection portion is buried in the housings 6 and 9. . The connector body 4 is capable of easily electrically disconnecting and connecting the electric wires 1 by inserting and removing the pins 7 of the male structure 2 to and from the jacks 10 of the female structure 3. In the connection state in which the two are joined, as a whole, as shown in FIG. 6, a tapered portion from the small-diameter portion on the side of the electric wire 1 at both ends and a substantially columnar or spindle-shaped shape following the large-diameter portion at the center are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case 5 is formed by joining two hull parts 11 having both ends narrowed, and can cover the entire connector body 4 in the connected state, including the original portions of the electric wires 1 on both sides. Is made of a metal or plastic flame-retardant material. The two hull parts 11 have substantially the same shape, and a protruding part 13 is provided at the center of both sides of a large-diameter semi-cylindrical body part 12 of one hull part 11, and each protruding part 13 has a slit 14 in the lateral direction. (See FIG. 6). An L-shaped projection 15 is provided at the center of both sides of the large-diameter semi-cylindrical body 12 of the other boat-shaped part 11, and the projection 15 is fitted to the slit 14 so as to be detachable from the slit 14. Are formed outward one by one (see FIG. 6). Both sides of this projection 15 are slits 1
There is provided a notch into which the projection 13 having the projection 4 can enter.

Both sides of the body 12 of the two hull parts 11 taper narrowly and continue to a small-diameter semi-cylindrical holding end 17 covering the original part of the electric wire 1. Each of the holding ends 17 is provided with a semicircular arc-shaped extraction preventing structure 18 inside in the form of a weir. The pull-out preventing structure 18 has an inner surface that comes into contact with the ends of the housings 6 and 9 of the male structure 2 and the female structure 3, and restricts the movement of the connector body 4 in the connected state in the detaching direction. Further, a dent is formed on the end face of the extraction preventing structure 18, and the base of the electric wire 1 is clamped from both sides by this dent,
In addition, the waterproof structure 19 prevents water that adheres to the electric wire 1 and propagates through the electric wire 1 from entering the case 5. The connector body 4 in the connected state is supported by the pull-out prevention structure 18 at both ends of the electric wire 1 at both ends in the case 5 and is covered with a gap 20 between the case 5 and the inner surface of the case 5 (FIG. 1). reference). The joint surface 21 of the case 5 is a surface substantially perpendicular to the joint surface 8 of the male structure 2 and the female structure 3, so that the case 5 can be covered so as to grip the entire connector body 4 in the connected state. it can. Note that the pull-out preventing structure 18 and the waterproof structure 19 may be configured separately, but a simpler configuration may be adopted when the structure is provided with both functions as in the present embodiment.

This connector has a male structure 2 and a female structure 3
The two hull parts 11 are joined from the outside of the connector body 4 by fitting the slits 14 and the ridges 16 to form a case 5. The case 5 covers the entire connector body 4. (FIGS. 1 and 6
reference). Therefore, the connector main body 4 that functions as an electrical connection component can perform its original function as an electrical connection device even in a severe environment without being directly exposed to the weather, heat, light, or the like by the case 5. Wide range of use. The connection state of the connector body 4 covered by the case 5 is ensured by the pull-out preventing structure 18 of the case 5, and the connection state is maintained by the pull-out preventing structure 18 even when a load is applied to the electric wire 1 in the pull-out direction due to external wind or the like. Will be maintained. Even if rainwater or the like travels on the electric wire 1, the waterproof structure 19 prevents the rainwater or the like from entering the case 5, and the electrical insulation of the connector body 4 is not impaired. Even if water enters the case 5, the connector body 4 is not
Since it is supported in a suspended state with a, it is not immersed in water that has entered.

Since the case 5 is a flame-retardant material, it does not easily burn even if it receives heat from the outside, and even if fire occurs for some reason inside, the spread of fire to the outside can be prevented. When disconnecting the connector body 4 for maintenance or inspection,
If the ridge 16 of the other hull part 11 is removed from the slit 14 of one hull part 11, the case 5 can be easily split into two parts to expose the connector body 4. As described above, the connector of the present embodiment has high weather resistance and is suitable for connection of a lead wire of a solar cell or connection of electric wiring of a vehicle in a severe environment.

Embodiment 2 This embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is one in which the case 5 of the connector shown in the first embodiment is constituted by one component, and is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the configuration relating to the case 5. Therefore, the same or corresponding parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

The connector of the present embodiment has a case 5
A structure corresponding to two hull parts 11 is connected to a self-hinge 7 from a self-hinge so that the two parts can be detachably connected to a connecting surface 8 of the male structure 2 and the female structure 3 at a plane substantially perpendicular thereto. It was done. By adopting this configuration, the case 5 can be attached and detached by engaging and disengaging the slit 14 on one side and the ridge 16, so that the simplicity is improved and the number of parts is reduced. For fitting the case 5, a structure for hooking a hook or the like can be adopted other than the structure using the slit 14 and the ridge 16. Other functions are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3 In the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the connector shown in the first or second embodiment is provided on a lead wire of a solar cell.
The configuration of the connector is the same as that of the first or second embodiment. Accordingly, the same reference numerals as those of the first or second embodiment are used for the connectors, and the description of the configurations thereof is omitted.

The solar cell 23 has two lead wires 24 for taking output. The solar power generation system as shown in FIG. 8 is configured by connecting the lead wires 24 and connecting a plurality of solar cells 23 in series. Multiple solar cells 2
In many cases, 3 is laid and fixed on a stand 25 as shown in FIG. 9 provided on a roof or on the ground. The pedestal 25 is composed of a channel material 26 or the like made by extruding aluminum, and adjacent solar cells 23 are mounted on one channel material 26 in the frame. The male structure 2 of the connector body 4 is provided at one end of the two lead wires 24 of the solar cell 23, and the female structure 3 of the connector body 4 is provided at the other end. The case 5 is mounted on either the male structure 2 or the female structure 3.

When installing the solar cell 23, the gantry 25
Each lead wire 24 of the solar cell 23 placed on the pedestal 25 is routed in the channel of the gantry 25 as shown in FIG.
And the female structure 3 is inserted. With this connection, the connector main body 4 is formed in the channel. The case 5 is attached to the connector body 4 one by one and wiring is performed.
As a result, electric wiring can be realized by a connector having high resistance to weather, heat, and the like and having weather resistance, and a stable power generation function can be exhibited.

In the solar cell 23 provided with this connector,
Even if the connector which is the connection part of the lead wire 24 is exposed to the outside, it has a protection function against wind, rain, heat, etc.
A construction method that does not use the gantry 25 can also be used. For example, even when the solar cell 23 is installed directly on the roof or when the solar cell 23 is installed by suspending the solar cell 23, the connector that is the connection portion of the lead wire 24 can be exposed.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain a weather-resistant connector having a wide range of use.

According to the invention of claim 2, together with the effect of claim 1, the connection state can be firmly maintained even if a load is applied to the electric wire.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent intrusion of water transmitted through the electric wire together with the effect according to the first aspect.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the penetration of water transmitted through the electric wire together with the effect according to the second aspect.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the safety according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is improved with respect to heat.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the mounting of the case is simplified along with the effect according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the case according to any one of the first to fifth aspects can be easily attached and detached together with the effect.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a solar cell having a highly reliable lead wire connection portion that can be used in various construction methods can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a connector according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one hull-shaped part of the connector according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the other hull component of the connector according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded configuration diagram of the connector according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a configuration of a connector case according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a solar cell according to a third embodiment in a connected state.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing one of the solar cell construction methods according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 wire, 2 male structure, 3 female structure, 4 connector body, 5 case, 6 housing, 7
Pins, 8 mating surfaces, 9 housing, 10 jacks, 11 hull parts, 14 slits, 16
Ridge, 18 pull-out prevention structure, 19 waterproof structure, 21
Bonding surface, 22 self-hinge, 23 solar cells,
24 lead wires.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Norihide Hakamada 2-6-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. 5E087 EE02 EE06 FF03 FF07 HH01 KK03 LL04 LL17 MM05 QQ03 RR12 RR14 RR25 5F051 JA08

Claims (8)

[Claims] A male structure provided with pins protruding from a housing and a jack covered by the housing, the male structure being provided at an end of the electric wire and electrically connecting the electric wires so that the electric wires can be separated from each other by male and female fitting. A connector comprising: a case that covers the entire outside of the male structure and the female structure in a connected state. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the case is provided with a pull-out preventing structure for maintaining a fitting state between the male structure and the female structure. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the case is provided with a waterproof structure which is in close contact with the electric wire and performs a watertight function on the electric wire portion on the male structure side and the electric wire portion on the female structure side. connector. 4. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the extraction preventing structure has a waterproof function of preventing water from entering from the electric wire side. 5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the case is made of a flame-retardant material. 6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the case is releasably connectable on a surface substantially perpendicular to a connection surface between the male structure and the female structure. Connector divided into two parts. 7. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the case is releasably connectable on a surface substantially perpendicular to a connection surface between the male structure and the female structure. An approximately symmetrical connector connected by a hinge. 8. A solar cell comprising the connector according to claim 1 as a connection part of a lead wire.