JP2004047144A - Connector for sheathed cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easily manufacturable connector for a sheathed cable capable of providing high reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The connector for a sheathed cable fits a ceramic case 1 with both ends opened, a female terminal 6 inserted into the case 1 from one-end side opening with an insertion part 7 facing an insertion opening 2 side of the other end of the case 1, the sheathed cable 12 connected to the female terminal 6 and drawn out of the one-end side opening of the case 1, a male terminal 15 detachably inserted into the insertion part 7 of the female terminal 6 by being inserted into the case 1 from the insertion opening 2 side of the other end of the case 1, and a cable 21 connected to the male terminal 15 and other connectors and sensors having male terminals. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheath cable having a structure in which a conductive wire is housed in a metal sheath such as stainless steel and filled with an inorganic insulating material powder such as magnesia to insulate it, and this sheath cable is connected to another cable. Related to connectors. In particular, the present invention relates to a small-sized sheath cable connector which is suitable for use in a vacuum or in a radiation environment, and at the same time ensures both ease of manufacture and reliability.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional sheath cable connector of this type connects a ceramic terminal to an end of the sheath cable, connects a so-called soft cable covered with a resin insulating material or the like to the connector, and connects the soft cable to a commercially available connector. are doing. This commercially available connector has a cylindrical outer case, and a pin-shaped center contact is disposed in the center of the outer case in an insulated state. The soft cable is connected to the center contact.
[0003]
The commercially available connector has a cylindrical outer case made of a metal such as stainless steel, and the center contact is held in the outer case via a ceramic insulating material such as alumina. In this commercially available connector, another connector is detachably fitted to the end of the connector, and the sheath cable is connected to another cable via the center contact.
[0004]
In a vacuum chamber of a vacuum apparatus such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a heater is used for heating a substrate or a molecular beam source. Transfer rods and other actuators are also used in the vacuum chamber. Electricity is supplied to these heaters and actuators, so that wiring must be provided in a vacuum chamber.
Until now, the connection of wiring in a vacuum chamber has been avoided as much as possible. However, from the viewpoint of the flexibility of the design of the vacuum apparatus, there is an increasing demand for connecting a cable in the vacuum chamber. Development is needed.
[0005]
In a vacuum chamber, the molecular density decreases, and as the gas partial pressure decreases, the release of molecules from the material surface cannot be ignored. Therefore, so-called baking is performed, in which the molecules in the vacuum chamber are exhausted by a turbo molecular pump or the like, and the vacuum chamber is heated at a high temperature to release the molecules from the solid surface existing inside the vacuum chamber in advance. Therefore, the material used in the vacuum chamber is required to have heat resistance.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional connector for a sheath cable as described above, a so-called soft cable using a resin insulator is used, so that the heat resistance is not good. In addition, at high temperatures, the resin material decomposes and the amount of outgassing becomes very large, so that the inside of the vacuum chamber cannot be maintained at a high vacuum degree.
[0007]
In addition, when the above-described conventional sheath cable connector is used in a vacuum chamber in which generation of radiation is inevitable, such as in a fusion device or an accelerator, the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the resin insulator may change due to radiation exposure. It deteriorates rapidly and loses its function as a sheath cable connector within a short period of time. As a result, it is necessary to frequently replace the sheath cable connector, and there is an inconvenience that the maintenance is troublesome.
[0008]
For these reasons, the sheath cable connector described above was not suitable for use in a vacuum chamber.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheath cable connector that can be easily manufactured and that can achieve high reliability in view of the problems in such a conventional sheath cable connector.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a female terminal 6 is incorporated in a ceramic case 1 and a sheath cable 12 is connected to the terminal 6. The male terminal 15 connected to the cable 21 is detachably connected to the female terminal 6.
[0010]
That is, the connector for a sheath cable according to the present invention is a ceramic case 1 having both ends opened, and inserted into the case 1 through an opening at one end thereof, and inserted into the insertion port 2 at the other end of the case 1. A female terminal 6 to which the insertion portion 7 is directed, a sheath cable 12 connected to the female terminal 6 and drawn out from the opening at one end of the case 1; A male terminal 15 removably inserted into the insertion portion 7 of the female terminal 6 by being inserted from the insertion port 2 side into the inside, and a cable to which the male terminal 15 is connected. 21 and other connectors having a male terminal and a sensor are fitted.
[0011]
Here, the female terminal 6 is connected to the sheath cable 12 by caulking to the pin 11 connected to the sheath cable 12 via the ceramic terminal 10. In the female terminal of another form, the terminal is connected by fitting the pin 11 connected to the sheath cable 12 via the ceramic terminal 10 into a metal sleeve 35 fixed by caulking to the terminal.
[0012]
Such a sheath cable connector has heat resistance because all the constituent members are made of an inorganic material, and can secure a stable state even in an environment where radiation is irradiated. Further, since the connection between the female terminal 6 and the male terminal 15 is made in the ceramic case 1, there is no possibility that these terminals 6 and 15 will be short-circuited by contact with other conductors.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described specifically and in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views showing a state in which a female terminal 3 of a sheath cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is taken out of a case 1, as seen from the front surface and the back surface, respectively. FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing a state in which the female terminal is fitted in the ceramic case 1, and are respectively shown in a front view and a side view in which the case 1 is longitudinally cut.
[0014]
The case 1 is made of a sintered body such as alumina. The case 1 has a horizontally long cubic shape in the illustrated example, has a hollow terminal insertion portion 4 inside, and has a terminal insertion portion 4 on one end side. It has an outlet 2 with a low height. Further, a groove 3 is formed on the bottom surface of the terminal insertion portion 4 on the side of the insertion port 2.
[0015]
The female terminal 6 is made by cutting and bending a metal plate, and has a female insertion portion 7 at the end. A connection portion 9 which is a base of the female terminal 6 is caulked with a pin 11 which is a tip of a ceramic terminal 10 to which a sheath cable 12 is connected. The structure of the ceramic terminal 10 will be described later. Further, at the bottom of the insertion portion 7 at the tip of the female terminal 6, there is provided a projection 8 which is partially cut and raised to project therefrom. At the base of the insertion portion 7, and protrudes outward from the bottom surface thereof.
[0016]
The height and width of the terminal housing portion 4 inside the case 1 are slightly larger than the width and height of the insertion portion 7 of the female terminal 6.
The female terminal 6 is fitted into the terminal housing 4 from the opening opposite to the insertion port 2 of the case 1, and the distal end of the insertion portion 7 of the terminal 6 protrudes toward the distal end of the case 1. Hit it. In this state, the distal end of the insertion portion 7 of the female terminal 6 faces the insertion port 2 of the case 1.
[0017]
When the female terminal 6 is inserted into the terminal housing portion 4 of the case 1 as described above, the projecting piece 8 provided on the bottom surface of the terminal 6 is pushed into the terminal housing portion 4 while being pushed up against its elasticity. 3 and 4, when the distal end of the terminal 6 abuts against the distal end of the case 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the protrusion provided on the bottom surface of the terminal 6 as shown in those figures. 8 rises downward, fits into the groove 3, and is prevented from falling off. When pulling out the terminal 6 from the terminal storage portion 4 of the case 1, a pin is inserted into the groove 3 from the insertion port 2 side to push up the projecting piece 8 against its elasticity, and remove the projecting piece 8 from the groove 3. Pull it out with it done.
[0018]
FIG. 5 shows a male terminal 15 inserted into and connected to the female terminal 6 housed in the terminal housing portion 4 of the case 1. The male terminal 15 is also made by cutting and bending a metal plate. It has a male insert 16 at its tip and a through hole 17 in the center of the insert 16. A pin 19 which is a tip of a ceramic terminal 20 to which a sheath cable 21 is connected is connected by caulking to a connecting portion 18 which is a base of the male terminal 15. The structures of the ceramic terminal 20 and the sheath cable 21 are the same as those of the ceramic terminal 10 and the sheath cable 12 described above. A cylindrical ceramic sleeve 33 is fitted from the ceramic terminal 20 of the male terminal 15 to the connecting portion 18 of the terminal 15 to be insulated from the outside.
[0019]
The insertion piece 16 of the male terminal 15 is inserted into the insertion port 2 of the case 1 from the insertion port 2 side, and is inserted into the insertion portion 7 of the female terminal 6. As a result, the male terminal 15 and the female terminal 6 are electrically connected, and the sheath cable 12 and the sheath cable 21 are electrically connected via the pair of terminals 6 and 15. By pulling out the insertion piece 16 of the male terminal 15 from the insertion part 7 of the female terminal 6 from this state, the electrical connection between the sheath cable 12 and the sheath cable 21 is released.
[0020]
6 and 7 show another embodiment of the sheath cable connector. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the female terminal 6 is housed in a ceramic case 1, and FIG. And the female terminal 6 are separated.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a metal sleeve 35 having substantially the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the pin 11 at the tip of the ceramic terminal 6 is swaged to the connecting portion 9 which is the base of the female terminal 6. The pin 11 at the tip of the ceramic terminal 10 is detachably fitted into the sleeve 35. Therefore, the sheath cable 12 can be easily detached and replaced.
[0021]
Further, FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the ceramic terminal 10. The ceramic terminal 10 has metal cylindrical pins 11 and 31 fitted and fixed to both ends of a cylindrical ceramic sleeve 33 made of alumina or the like. Specifically, both end surfaces of the ceramic sleeve 33 are metallized with Ni or the like, and the flange-shaped portions of the pins 11 and 31 are fixed thereto by means such as welding. A metal rod 34 serving as a core is fitted into one of the pins 11, and the distal ends 34 of the rods are aligned with the distal ends of the pins 11, and are fixed by brazing so as to cover the distal ends of the pins 11. Have been. The sheath cable 12 is inserted into the other pin 31, and a portion near the tip of the sheath cable 12 is fixed to the tip of the pin 31 by welding or the like. Then, the conductive wire 32 therein is exposed from the distal end of the sheath cable 12 inserted into the ceramic sleeve 33, and this is connected to the metal rod 34 in the ceramic sleeve 33 directly or through another conductor. It is connected.
[0022]
In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, the sheath cable 12 is connected to the terminal 6 by fitting the pin 11 at the tip of the ceramic terminal 10 into the metal sleeve 35 attached to the female terminal 6. . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pin 11 at the tip of the ceramic terminal 10 is directly connected to the connection portion 9 of the female terminal 6.
The ceramic terminal 20 shown in FIG. 5 to which the male terminal 15 is connected also has pins 19 and 35 at both ends, and the structure is the same as that of the ceramic terminal 10 shown in FIG.
[0023]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the female terminal 3 of the sheath cable connector according to another embodiment of the present invention is taken out of the case 1. FIG. 9 is a view showing a state where the female terminal 3 is fitted into the ceramic case 1.
In this embodiment, a cable stopper 23 is attached to an end of the case 1 by a bolt 24 screwed into a screw hole 25 provided in the case 1, and the female terminal 6 inserted into the terminal housing 4 of the case 1 and the ceramic terminal 10 and keep out.
[0024]
The cable stopper 23 is formed by bending a plate-shaped metal member into an L-shaped side surface, providing a screw hole for passing the bolt 24 at one end thereof, and having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the pin 31 at one end of the ceramic terminal 10 at the other end. And a U-shaped recess 26 having a width smaller than the diameter of the ceramic terminal 10 is provided. As shown in FIG. 9 from the state shown in FIG. 8, the female terminal 6 and the ceramic terminal 10 are inserted into the case 1, and in this state, one pin 31 of the ceramic terminal 10 is connected to the cable stopper 23. The ceramic terminal 10 can be prevented from coming out of the case 1 by fitting the cable stopper 23 into the recessed portion 26 and fixing the cable stopper 23 to the end of the case 1 with the bolt 24.
Other aspects are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the sheath cable connector according to the present invention has heat resistance because all the constituent members are made of an inorganic material, and further ensures a stable state even in an environment where radiation is irradiated. Can be done. Further, since the female terminal 6 and the male terminal 7 are connected in the ceramic case 1, it is possible to reliably prevent a short circuit due to contact of the terminals 6, 7 with other conductors. I can do it.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a female terminal is taken out of a case in a sheath cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheath cable connector according to the embodiment as viewed from the lower surface side, showing a state where a female terminal is taken out of a case;
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which the female terminal is fitted in a ceramic case in the sheath cable connector according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the sheath cable connector according to the same embodiment, in which only a case showing a state in which a female terminal is fitted in a ceramic case is longitudinally cut.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a male terminal to be inserted into and connected to the female terminal in the sheath cable connector according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 shows a sheath cable connector according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the female terminal is housed in a ceramic case, and only the case showing the state in which the ceramic terminal of the sheath cable is pulled out from the terminal is longitudinally cut. It is a side view.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the sheath cable connector according to the same embodiment, in which only the ceramic terminals are shown in a state where the ceramic terminals are pulled out from the female terminals.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which a female terminal is taken out of a case in a sheath cable connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the sheath cable connector according to the same embodiment, in which only a case showing a state where the female terminal is fitted in a ceramic case is longitudinally cut.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Case insertion port 6 Female terminal 7 Female terminal insertion part 10 Ceramic terminal 11 Ceramic terminal pin 12 Sheath cable 15 Male terminal 21 Cable 35 Sleeve crimped to terminal

Claims (3)

A connector for connecting a sheath cable to another cable, comprising a ceramic case (1) having both ends opened, and a case (1) inserted through an opening at one end of the case (1). A female terminal (6) having an insertion portion (7) directed toward the insertion port (2) at the other end, and the one end of the case (1) connected to the female terminal (6). The sheath cable (12) pulled out from the opening of the female terminal (6) is inserted into the case (1) from the insertion port (2) side of the other end of the case (1). A male terminal (15) removably inserted into the socket (7), a cable (21) to which the male terminal (15) is connected, another connector having a male terminal, and a sensor are fitted. A connector for a sheath cable, characterized in that: The female terminal (6) is connected by crimping to a pin (11) connected to a sheath cable (12) via a ceramic terminal (10). Sheath cable connector. A female terminal (6) is connected by fitting a pin (11) connected to a sheath cable (12) via a ceramic terminal (10) into a metal sleeve (35) fixed to it by caulking. The connector for a sheath cable according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided.

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