JP2003173827A - Cable holding structure of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cable holding structure in which contact reliability of cables at a U-shape pressure welding section is secured for a connector equipped with a U-shape pressure welding section. <P>SOLUTION: An upper cable housing and a lower cable housing each have at least one upper guide slot and one lower guide slot and at an end face section of the upper guide slot and the lower guide slot are arranged a complementary upper stepped slot and a lower stepped slot. At the boundary between the upper guide slot and the upper stepped slot and the boundary between the lower guide slot and the lower stepped slot are formed respectively an upper corner section and a lower corner section. It is so configured that cables are held between the upper corner section and the lower holding section when the cables are temporarily fixed, and at the time of pressure welding work and when a cable housing is insertion-coupled with a contact housing, after the cables are fixed by being bent and pinched in a crank shape extending from between the upper and lower guide slots to between the upper and lower stepped slots, the cables are pressure welded at the U-shape pressure welding section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a cable holding structure in a connector. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cable holding structure capable of favorably contacting a cable with a contact having a U-shaped pressure contact portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to electrically connect a cable to a contactor, a U-shaped pressure welding type connection method is used in which a conductor of the cable is press-fitted / sandwiched (press-contacted) in a U-shaped pressure welding portion of the contactor. Has been.

In the U-shaped pressure welding type connection method (so-called U-shaped pressure welding method), an external force (for example, pulling force when pulling out one connector from a pair of fitted connectors while gripping a cable) is actually used. The cable holding structure shown in FIG. 1 is used so as not to be directly applied to the U-shaped press contact portion.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, in the connector having the U-shaped press contact portion 162, the upper and lower housings 13 are
Upper and lower guide grooves 11 provided at both ends of 0 and 140
The cable 102 is clamped by 1, 121.

However, in this case, the pressure welding work is performed in parallel with the cable holding by the housings 130 and 140. Therefore, the cable 102 is likely to be pressed against the U-shaped pressure contact portion 162 in a loosened state. As a result, the amount of cable pushing in the U-shaped press contact portion 162 locally changes,
The cable pressure contact force at the U-shaped pressure contact portion 162 varies, and there is a problem in contact reliability at the U-shaped pressure contact portion 162.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a cable holding structure in a connector having a U-shaped pressure contact portion, in which contact reliability of the cable with respect to the U-shaped pressure contact portion is ensured. It is to be.

[0007]

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a cable housing in which a cable can be pre-fixed between an upper cable housing and a lower cable housing, and a U-shape. In a connector integrated with a contactor housing in which a contactor having a press contact portion is arranged, each of the upper cable housing and the lower cable housing has at least one guide upper groove and guide lower groove, and the guide upper groove and Complementary upper step grooves and lower step grooves are respectively provided on the base end side of the lower guide grooves, and the upper step groove and the upper step groove are respectively provided at the boundary between the upper guide groove and the upper step groove. When the corners and lower corners are formed and the cable is pre-fixed, the cable is pinched by the upper and lower corners. On the other hand, at the time of press-fitting work, when the cable housing is fitted to the contactor housing, the cable is first bent and clamped in a crank shape between the upper and lower guide grooves to be fixed between the upper and lower step grooves. After that, the cable is pressed against the U-shaped pressure contact portion.

According to the cable holding structure of the above connector, the upper step groove and the upper guide groove of the upper cable housing and the lower step groove and the lower guide groove of the lower cable housing form a cable accommodation space bent in a crank shape. An upper corner portion and a lower corner portion are formed at the boundary between the upper guide groove and the upper step groove and the boundary between the lower guide groove and the lower step groove, respectively. When preliminarily fixing the cable, the cable accommodated in the cable accommodation space is preliminarily fixed with a relatively small clamping force by the upper and lower corner portions.

When the pre-fixed cable housing of the cable is slightly pushed into the contactor housing, the gap between the upper guide groove and the lower guide groove is narrowed, and the cable is clamped in the upper and lower guide grooves. Similarly, the cable is clamped in the upper and lower step grooves. Therefore, the cable which has been preliminarily fixed by the upper and lower corner portions with a relatively small holding force is bent and held in a crank shape between the upper and lower guide grooves and the upper and lower step grooves. The crank-shaped bending sandwiching between the upper and lower corner portions has a large resistance to a pulling force from the outside, so that the holding force of the cable is increased. In this way, the cable is held in a tensioned state by the crank-shaped bending and sandwiching structure. A cable that is bent and clamped in a crank shape and is in a tensioned state
Since the cable is pressure-welded to the pressure-contact portion, the contact reliability of the U-shaped pressure-contact portion of the cable is ensured.

Preferably, the gap between the upper and lower corner portions and the gap between the upper and lower guide grooves are variable according to the thickness of the cable to be held. For example, various cable thicknesses can be accommodated by changing the steps of the upper and lower step grooves and the groove depth of the upper and lower guide grooves.

Pre-fixing the cable by integrating it with the other cable housing while the tip of the cable is in contact with the side wall surface of the tip of one of the upper and lower cable housings makes it possible to accurately fix the cable. It is preferable from the viewpoint of proper positioning.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a structure for holding a cable 2 in a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the lower cable housing 10 which constitutes the connector 1 according to the present invention.

The lower cable housing 10 is a PA 66,
It is made by injection molding a resin material such as PA6, PBT, or PCT. The lower cable housing body 12 of the lower cable housing 10 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a plurality of guide lower grooves 14 corresponding to the number of cables to be stored. At the base end side of each guide lower groove 14, a lower step groove 11 that is one step lower than the guide lower groove 14 is provided. A lower corner portion 18 is formed by a step between the guide lower groove 14 and the lower step groove 11. On the tip end side of the guide lower groove 14, a cable locking member 13 extending obliquely forward and having its tip slightly protruding from the guide lower groove 14 is provided. Further, a U-shaped pressure contact portion insertion through hole 16 for receiving a U-shaped pressure contact portion 62 described later is formed in the center of the cable guide groove 14.
On the base end sides of both side surfaces of the lower cable housing body 12,
The engagement receiving portion 15 is provided. Further, the first engaging protrusions 17 having the inclined bottom surface and the flat upper surface are provided on the base end side and the tip end side of both side surfaces of the lower cable housing body 12, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper cable housing 20 constituting the connector 1 according to the present invention. 4 is a perspective view when the upper cable housing shown in FIG. 3 is turned upside down.

The upper cable housing 20 is a PA 66,
It is made by injection molding a resin material such as PA6, PBT, or PCT. In the upper cable housing body 22 of the upper cable housing 20, the above-mentioned cable guide grooves 14 are provided.
Is provided with a plurality of upper guide grooves 24. On the base end side of each guide upper groove 24, an upper step groove 21 which is one step higher than the other portions is formed. An upper corner portion 28 is formed by the step between the guide upper groove 24 and the upper step groove 21. Therefore, the upper step groove 21 has a shape complementary to the lower step groove 11. The upper guide groove 24 also has a shape complementary to the lower guide groove 14. A cable contact wall that receives the tip of the cable 2 is provided on the tip side of the upper guide groove 24. Further, in the central portion of the guide upper groove 24,
A U-shaped pressure contact portion insertion hole 26 corresponding to the U-shaped pressure contact portion insertion through hole 16 is formed. The lower cable housing 10 is provided on the base end sides of both side surfaces of the upper cable housing body 22.
An engaging protrusion 25 that engages with the engaging receiving portion 15 is provided. Further, the second engaging protrusion 27 having the inclined bottom surface and the flat upper surface is provided with the upper cable housing body 2.
It is provided on each of the base end side and the tip end side of the two side surfaces.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a contactor housing 40 which constitutes the connector 1 according to the present invention.

The contactor housing 40 is composed of PA66, PA.
6, made of resin material such as PBT, PCT, etc. by injection molding. As shown in FIG. 5, the contactor housing 40
In the contactor housing body 42, a plurality of contactors 60 corresponding to the number of cables to be accommodated are arranged.
The contactor 60 is made of a conductive metal material such as a copper alloy and is bent into a substantially L shape. The contactor 60 includes a U-shaped pressure contact portion 62 formed on the base end side, a base portion fixed in the mounting space 44 of the contactor housing body 42, and a terminal portion 64 aligned in the connection space 46. It becomes. A conductor such as a copper wire of the cable 2 is inserted into and pressed against the slit of the U-shaped pressure contact portion 62 protruding upward. Further, the connector 1 is provided on the side surface of the contactor housing main body 42.
A connecting hook 48 for engaging a mating connector (not shown)
Is provided.

6 to 14 show a series of states in which the cable housing 30 of the cable 2 in which the cable 2 is preliminarily fixed is press-fitted and attached to the contactor housing 40 in the connector 1 over time. A cable holding structure and a cable holding method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

6 to 11 show how the cable housing 30 in which the cable 2 is preliminarily fixed is temporarily attached to the contactor housing 40.

First, the cable 2 is arranged in a cable housing space formed by the guide lower groove 14 and the guide upper groove 24 and the lower step groove 11 and the upper step groove 21, and contacts the cable contact wall of the upper cable housing 20. Positioned to touch. After that, a small pressing force is applied in the thickness direction of the housing, so that the cable 2 is integrally held between the lower cable housing 10 and the upper cable housing 20 in a sandwich state. At this time, the engagement receiving portion 15 of the lower cable housing 10 and the engagement protruding portion 25 of the upper cable housing 20 engage with each other, so that the cable housing 30 is integrated. That is, the cable 20 is preliminarily fixed with a relatively small holding force by the lower corner portion 18 of the lower step groove 11 and the upper corner portion 28 of the upper step groove 21. By preliminarily fixing the cable 2 to the cable housing 30, it is not necessary to assemble the housing with a cable in the field work, so that the field work time can be shortened.

At the pre-fixing stage, the cable 2 can move freely between the cable 2 and the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and between the cable 2 and the upper and lower step grooves 11 and 21, respectively. There is a gap that can be created (see Figure 9). Therefore, it becomes easy to insert the cable 2 into the U-shaped pressure contact portion 62 of the contact 60.

Next, the pre-fixed cable housing 30 of the cable 2 is slightly pushed toward the contactor housing 40 to be temporarily attached to the contactor housing 40 as shown in FIGS. .

When the cable housing 30 is slightly pushed toward the contactor housing 40, the cable 2 is bent and clamped between the upper and lower cable housings 30 in a crank shape as shown in FIG. The movable cable gap that was present in the preliminary fixing stage disappears due to the pushing in the thickness direction, and the cable 2 is sandwiched between the lower guide groove 14 and the upper guide groove 24. Similarly, the cable 2 has an upper step groove 21.
And is sandwiched by the lower step groove 11. Also, the cable 20
Are sandwiched between the lower corner portion 18 and the upper corner portion 28. Therefore, the cable 2 is formed by the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and the upper and lower step grooves 11 and 21, and by the lower corner portion 18 and the upper corner portion 28.
It is clamped in a cranked state. The first engagement protrusion 17 of the lower cable housing 10 is engaged with an engagement receiving portion (not shown) provided on the inner surface of the cable housing housing space 44 of the contactor housing 40.
The cable housing 30 is thus temporarily attached to the contactor housing 40.

Next, the temporarily mounted cable housing 3
When 0 is pushed into the contactor housing 40 in the thickness direction of the housing with a pushing force larger than that at the time of temporary mounting,
2 to 14, the cable housing 30 is permanently attached to the contactor housing 40.

The cable housing 30 in which the cable 2 in a tensioned state, which is bent and clamped in a crank shape, is fixed,
When the contactor housing 40 is pushed in with a greater pushing force in the thickness direction, the insulating coating of the cable 2 is broken by the slit of the U-shaped pressure contact portion 62 of the contactor 60, and the conductor of the cable 2 is exposed. After that, the conductor is pressed against the slit of the U-shaped pressure contact portion 62, and the conductor is electrically connected to the contactor 60. Then, the second engagement projection portion 27 of the upper cable housing 20 engages with an engagement receiving portion (not shown) provided on the inner surface of the cable housing accommodation space 44 of the contactor housing 40.

The cable 2 in the tensioned state has the U-shaped pressure contact portion 6
Since it is pressed against 2, the U-shaped pressure contact portion 6 of the cable 2
The contact reliability with respect to 2 is secured. Further, since the engagement force at the engagement receiving portion acts on the cable 2 sandwiched between the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and the upper and lower step grooves 14 and 24, the cable 2 is moved to the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and The upper and lower step grooves 14 and 24 are pressed and sandwiched. Therefore, the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and the upper and lower step grooves 11 and 21
The cable 20 disposed between the
The upper corner portion 28 is bent and clamped in a crank shape, and is pressed and clamped by the upper and lower guide grooves 14 and 24 and the upper and lower step grooves 14 and 24.

As described above, the cable 2 is held by the crank-shaped bent holding structure and the pressure contact holding structure. With such a cable holding structure, the cable 2 is very firmly held in the connector 1, and a pulling force from the outside (for example, gripping the cable 2 while pulling one connector from a pair of fitted connectors) It has a great resistance to the pulling force when pulling out).

In the description of the above embodiment, the upper and lower corner portions 18, 28 may be edge-pointed, rounded R-shaped or chamfered.

Further, by changing the groove depth of the guide grooves 14 and 24 and the step height of the step portions 11 and 21, the gap between both corner portions 18 and 28 and the gap between both guide grooves 14 and 24 can be changed or engaged. By changing the engagement position between the protrusion 25 and the engagement receiving portion 15, various cable thicknesses can be dealt with.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a cable holding structure in a connector according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a lower cable housing of the connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an upper cable housing of the connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view when the upper cable housing shown in FIG. 3 is turned over.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a contactor housing of the connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connector in which a cable housing is temporarily attached to a contactor housing.

7 is a perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. 6 viewed from the step groove side.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the connector shown in FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the connector shown in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 6 when the cable housing is slightly pushed into the contactor housing.

11 is a side view of the connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the connector in which the cable housing is further pushed into the contactor housing and permanently fixed.

13 is a plan view of the connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the connector shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 connector 2 cables 10 Lower cable housing 11 Lower step groove 12 Lower cable housing body 13 Cable locking member 14 Guide lower groove 15 Engagement receiving part 16 U-shaped pressure contact insertion hole 17 First engaging protrusion 18 Lower corner 20 Upper cable housing 21 Upper step groove 22 Upper cable housing body 24 guide upper groove 25 Engaging protrusion 26 U-shaped pressure contact insertion hole 27 Second engagement protrusion 28 Upper corner 30 cable housing 40 Contact housing 42 Contact housing body 44 Cable housing accommodation space 46 connection space 48 connecting hook 60 contacts 62 U-shaped pressure welding part 64 terminals

Continued front page    F term (reference) 5E012 AA03 AA08 AA13 AA32 AA43                       AA50                 5E021 FA05 FA09 FA14 FB09 FC38                       FC40

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector in which a cable housing in which a cable can be preliminarily fixed between an upper cable housing and a lower cable housing and a contactor housing in which a contactor having a U-shaped press contact portion is arranged are integrated. Each of the upper cable housing and the lower cable housing has at least one upper guide groove and one lower guide groove, and complementary upper step grooves and lower step grooves are respectively provided on the proximal ends of the upper guide grooves and the lower guide grooves. The upper corner portion and the lower corner portion are formed at the boundary between the upper guide groove and the upper step groove and at the boundary between the lower guide groove and the lower step groove, respectively. While being clamped by the corner and the lower corner, the cable housing is used for the contact housing during pressure welding. When they are fitted to each other, the cables are first fixed by being bent and clamped in a crank shape between the upper and lower guide grooves and between the upper and lower step grooves, and then the cables are U-shaped.
A cable holding structure for a connector, wherein the cable holding structure is adapted to be pressed into contact with the pressure contact portion. 2. The gap between the upper corner portion and the lower corner portion and the gap between the guide upper groove and the guide lower groove are configured to be variable according to the thickness of the cable to be clamped. The cable holding structure according to claim 1. 3. The cable is preliminarily fixed by being integrated with the other cable housing in a state where the cable tip is in contact with the tip side wall surface of one of the upper and lower cable housings. The cable holding structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.