JP2004296371A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector able to realize a reduction of the number of components, easy assembly, and a reduction of the cost, while keeping stable connection between terminals. <P>SOLUTION: In the connector provided with a female terminal 22 to and from which a male terminal 21 can be fitted and removed, the female terminal 22 has an outer cylinder 24 provided with a concavity 26 into which the male terminal 21 to be inserted, and a circular contact spring 29 formed in the concavity 26. The contact spring 29 has a plurality of contact members 32 formed by inwardly bending the central portion of each of the contact members 32, and spark parts 33 formed by inwardly projecting the part of the tip of each of the contact members 32. The spark parts 33 and the contact spring members 29 are formed in a same parts, so that a parts number reduction, easy assembly, and cost reduction become possible. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a connector having a plurality of contact portions.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or the like, a connector having a plurality of contact portions is used so as to be suitable for use with a large current.
[0003]
As a conventional connector of this type, in order to achieve a high current capacity and a low contact resistance, a separate elastic contact member is built in the female terminal, and a male pin having a round pin shape is inserted into the elastic contact member of the female terminal. What is connected is known. For example, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a male terminal 1 is provided with a female terminal 2 that can be inserted and removed, and the male terminal 1 is formed with a bar-shaped contact 3. The outer cylinder 4 of the female terminal 2 is formed with a recess 5 into which the contact 3 can be fitted from the distal end side, and an annular contact spring member 6 is fitted into the recess 5. A plurality of contact portions 7 are formed in the contact spring member 6, and the center of each contact portion 7 is bent inward. For this reason, when the contact 3 of the male terminal 1 is inserted into the recess 5 of the female terminal 2, the contact 3 is sandwiched between the contact portions 7 of the contact spring member 6, and the connection state between the male terminal 1 and the female terminal 2 is established. Is to be retained.
[0004]
An enlarged diameter portion 8 is formed at the tip of the concave portion 5, and a ring 9 is loosely fitted to the enlarged diameter portion 8. A gap 10 is formed between the outer circumference of the ring 9 and the inner circumference of the enlarged diameter portion 8, and the inner diameter of the ring 9 is smaller than the outer diameter of the contact 3 and the inner diameter of the tip of the contact spring member 6. I have. For this reason, when the male terminal 1 is fitted to and removed from the female terminal 2, the ring 9 is pushed outward by the tip of the contact 3, and a spark is generated in the ring 9. In No. 7, no harmful spark is generated (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
US Patent No. 5,591,039
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional connector described above, since the ring 9 for spark generation is a separate part from the contact spring member 6, the number of parts is increased, the assembly is troublesome, and it is difficult to reduce the cost. Further, since the ring 9 is provided so as to be freely movable in the enlarged diameter portion 8, the male terminal 1 may be fitted to the female terminal 2 in an inclined state. The connection between the contact portion 7 and the contact portion 7 becomes unstable, and the temperature of the contact portion may increase. Further, the ring 9 is eccentric to the contact spring member 6 due to the spark generated when the terminals 1 and 2 are fitted and removed. There is also a problem that the male terminals 1 cannot be fitted to the female terminals 2 by fusing in a state in which they are formed.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a connector that can reduce the number of parts, facilitate assembly, reduce costs, and maintain a stable connection state between terminals. Things.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a connector having a female terminal to which a male terminal can be fitted and detached, wherein the female terminal has an outer cylinder having a concave portion to which the male terminal can be fitted on a distal end side, and an annular shape provided in the concave portion. Contact spring member, the contact spring member includes a plurality of contact portions formed by bending a central portion inward, and a spark portion formed to protrude inward at a distal end side of the contact portion. It is characterized by having.
[0009]
Preferably, the spark portion is formed by bending a tip portion of the contact spring member.
[0010]
Further, the spark portion may be formed by bending a tip portion of the contact spring member into a semicircular cross section.
[0011]
Further, the contact spring member may further include a contact portion formed to protrude inward at a base end side of the contact portion.
[0012]
Furthermore, the contact portion may be formed by bending a base end of the contact spring member.
[0013]
Further, the contact portion may be formed by bending a base end of the contact spring member into a semicircular cross section.
[0014]
With such a configuration, according to the present invention, since the spark portion and the contact spring member are the same component, it is possible to reduce the number of components, simplify assembly, and reduce cost. Further, since the spark portion is provided on the outer cylinder integrally with the contact spring member, for example, even if the male terminal is inserted in a state inclined with respect to the female terminal, the contact portion between the male terminal and the female terminal is provided. The connection between them does not become unstable, and it is possible to suppress a rise in the temperature of the contact portion.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a female terminal 22 to which a male terminal 21 can be fitted and detached. 23 are formed.
[0017]
The female terminal 22 is provided with an outer cylinder 24, and a substantially cylindrical fitting portion 25 is formed on the distal end side of the outer cylinder 24. A recess 26 is formed in the fitting portion 25, and the contact 23 of the male terminal 21 can be fitted in the recess 26. Further, a locking portion 27 protruding inward is formed at a distal end portion of the fitting portion 25, and a distal end side of the locking portion 27 is formed in a tapered shape. Further, a step portion 28 is formed on the inner surface of the fitting portion 25, and the thickness of the fitting portion 25 between the step portion 28 and the locking portion 27 is smaller than other portions of the fitting portion 25.
[0018]
An annular contact spring member 29 is fitted between the engaging portion 27 of the fitting portion 25 and the step portion 28. As best shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the contact spring member 29 has a C shape when viewed from the fitting direction (see FIG. 3), and is elastically deformable inward and outward. . For this reason, the work of attaching the contact spring member 29 to the fitting portion 25 is easy, and after the attachment, the contact spring member 29 is fitted into and pulled out of the engagement portion 27 and the stepped portion 28 respectively. Since the movement is restricted, there is no danger of falling off from the outer cylinder 24.
[0019]
The contact spring member 29 is formed by pressing a metal thin plate and then bending it into an annular shape in the recess 26. A plurality of slit holes 30 are formed in the contact spring member 29 in the fitting direction, whereby a plurality of spring pieces 31 are formed. The center portion of each spring piece 31 is bent inward to form a plurality of contact portions 32, and the inner diameter of the contact portion 32 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the contact 23. Further, a spark portion 33 is formed at a portion of the contact spring member 29 on the tip side of the contact portion 32 so as to protrude inward, and the inner diameter of the spark portion 33 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the contact 23. The spark portion 33 is formed by cutting the outer peripheral portion of the contact spring member 28 at a plurality of locations in a U-shape and bending the cut piece inward, and further bending the base end outward. ing.
[0020]
Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a contact portion 34 is formed at a portion of the contact spring member 29 proximal to the contact portion 32 so as to protrude inward. 34 has the same shape as the shape of the spark portion 33.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0022]
When the contact 23 is inserted into the concave portion 26 in order to connect the male terminal 21 and the female terminal 22, first, the tip of the contact 23 comes into contact with the spark portion 33, and a spark is generated in the spark portion 33. When the male terminal 21 is further inserted, the contact 23 comes into contact with the plurality of contact portions 32, and each contact portion 32 elastically deforms outward and then clamps the contact 23 at a required pressure. As a result, the contact 23 of the male terminal 21 and the contact portion 32 of the female terminal 22 are electrically connected. In this case, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, even if the contact portion 32 is elastically deformed outward when the contact portion 32 comes into contact with the contact 23, the spark portion 33 is in contact with the contact 23. The contact pressure of the contact 23 with respect to the contact portion 32 does not become lower than the required pressure due to the movement of the distal end portion 29 inward. Therefore, the contact state between the contact 23 and the contact portion 32 is stabilized.
[0023]
On the other hand, when the male terminal 21 is pulled to pull out the male terminal 21 from the female terminal 22, the contact 23 separates from the contact portion 32, and each contact portion 32 returns to the original state. When the male terminal 21 is further pulled, a spark is generated when the contact 23 separates from the spark portion 33. As described above, when the male terminal 21 and the female terminal 22 are engaged and disengaged from each other, the spark is generated at the spark portion 33 and does not occur at the contact portion 32, so that the contact portion 32 is fused to the contact 23 by the spark. I will not.
[0024]
In addition, the spark part 33 and the contact part 34 are not limited to the above-described shapes, and may have other shapes as long as they are formed so as to protrude inward.
[0025]
For example, the tip of the contact spring member 29 is formed in a comb shape, and as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the comb-shaped portion 35 is bent inward, and then the tip portion is further bent. May be bent outward, or as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the comb-shaped portion 36 may be bent inward.
[0026]
Further, as another modified example of the spark portion 33, the tip portion of the contact spring member 29 can be formed by bending the tip portion of the contact spring member 29 into a semicircular cross section. As shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of hemispherical concave portions 37 may be formed, or as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a semicircular cross-sectional groove portion 38 may be formed. 8 to 15 show modified examples of the shape of the spark portion 33, but the shape of the contact portion 34 is the same as that of the spark portion 33.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the spark portion and the contact spring member are the same component, it is possible to reduce the number of components, simplify assembly, and reduce cost.
[0028]
Further, since the spark portion is provided on the outer cylinder integrally with the contact spring member, for example, even if the male terminal is inserted in a state inclined with respect to the female terminal, the contact portion between the male terminal and the female terminal is provided. The connection between them is not unstable, and various excellent effects can be obtained, such as suppression of temperature rise at the contact portion.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a half sectional view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a side view showing another example of the contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an operation of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a side view showing still another example of the contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a side view showing still another example of the contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a side view showing still another example of the contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a partial sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 14 is a side view showing still another example of the contact spring member according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a partial sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.
FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
21 Male terminal 22 Female terminal 24 Outer cylinder 26 Recess x
29 Contact spring member 32 Contact part 33 Spark part 34 Contact part

Claims (6)

A connector having a female terminal to which a male terminal can be inserted and removed,
The female terminal includes an outer cylinder having a concave portion on the distal end side in which the male terminal can be fitted, and an annular contact spring member provided in the concave portion,
The contact spring member includes: a plurality of contact portions formed by bending a central portion inward; and a spark portion formed to protrude inward at a distal end side of the contact portion. . The connector according to claim 1, wherein the spark portion is formed by bending a tip portion of the contact spring member. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the spark portion is formed by bending a distal end portion of the contact spring member into a semicircular cross section. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact spring member further includes a contact portion formed to protrude inward at a base end side of the contact portion. The connector according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is formed by bending a base end of the contact spring member. The connector according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is formed by bending a base end of the contact spring member into a semicircular cross section.

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