JP2006344392A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector composed by reinforcing spring force by fitting a reinforcing member into a clamp spring. <P>SOLUTION: This connector 1 includes: clamp springs 15 in each of which a conductive strip-like spring body is bent in a loop-like form and one end thereof is inserted into a lead wire insertion opening 16 formed at the other end thereof; contact terminals 14 each having, at one end, a lock part 14d inserted into the lead wire insertion opening 16 and having, at the other end, a contact part 14a connected to another connector; and a connector housing 2 having a housing chamber 9 for housing the clamp springs 15 and the contact terminals 14; and is used for connecting each lead wire to the inside of the lead wire insertion opening 16 by fastening its neck by inserting the lead wire into the lead wire insertion opening 16 by bending the clamp spring 15 and by releasing the bending. A clamp spring reinforcing member 18 formed of an attachable/detachable elastic body is fitted in the inside of each clamp spring 15 bent in the loop-like form so as to be inscribed in the inside wall surface of the clamp spring 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector using a clamp spring for connection between a contact terminal and a lead wire.

In a connector or a terminal block, a fastening screw is usually used for connection between a terminal and a lead wire. However, when this fastening screw is used, a screw fastening work is required, and for the reason that the fastening work is troublesome and takes time, connectors using spring springs instead of such fastening screws have become widespread (for example, , See Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a screwless terminal block described in Patent Document 1 below. The screwless terminal block 20 includes a terminal block body 21 having a pair of guide protrusions 26 on both sides, a contact pressure spring 22 assembled to the guide protrusion 26, and a release lever 23 for operating these contact pressure springs 22. I have. Among these components, the contact pressure spring 22 is curved to form a loop shape, and an insertion hole 25 through which the electric wire 27 is inserted is formed at the tip, and the tip is provided at the rising portions at both ends of the terminal seat 24. It is the structure protruded outside from the made window hole.

  In connection with the electric wire 27, in the state on the right side of FIG. 7, the release lever 23 is rotated to move the insertion hole 25 of the pressure contact spring 22 to the right side of the drawing. After that, the release lever 23 is returned to its original position, and the tip of the electric wire is brought into contact with the side surface of the terminal seat 24 by the spring pressure of the contact pressure spring 22 itself to be connected. According to this connector, by operating the release lever, the electric wire can be easily connected to the contact pressure spring without using a screw.

  FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a connection device described in Patent Document 2 below. The connecting device 30 has a U-shape in which a protrusion 32 integrally formed on an insulating housing, a bus bar piece 33 having a rectangular material restricting hole 34, a bottom abutting the protrusion 32, and both ends inserted into the hole 34. And a leaf spring 31. For the connection with the electric wire, the end portion of the electric wire 35 is pushed and inserted into the hole against the spring force of the U-shaped plate spring 31 from the side portion of the fastening leg piece 31 a of the U-shaped plate spring 31. By this insertion, the end of the electric wire 35 is sandwiched between the inner wall of the material restricting hole 34 and the fastening leg piece 31a, and mechanical connection and electrical connection are made.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-67302 (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0007] to [0010]) JP 2004-87500 A (FIGS. 1 and 3, paragraphs [0022] to [0025])

  The pressure springs and leaf springs of the terminal block and the connecting device described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are both assembled to protrusions provided integrally in the housing, and the pressure springs and leaf springs are positioned by this assembly, and leads When the wires are connected, the movement of these spring bodies is guided to restrict excessive bending.

  However, this type of pressure spring and leaf spring use the spring force to maintain the connection state with the lead wire (electric wire), and these fastening forces are weaker than those of the screw fastening and are slightly applied to the lead wire. If excessive pulling force is applied, it will come off easily, and if excessive force is applied to these spring bodies during connection work, permanent deformation, breakage, etc. will occur. Connections may be loosened due to secular changes, etc. Therefore, as a countermeasure against such problems, measures such as using a steel material with high mechanical strength for the pressure spring and the leaf spring, increasing the plate thickness of this steel material, and increasing the plate width can be considered. The strategy sometimes requires changing the specifications of the spring body, and such specification changes may not be adopted in the connector design.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector in which a reinforcing member is fitted into a clamp spring to reinforce the spring force. .

In order to achieve the above object, in the connector invention according to claim 1 of the present application, the conductive belt-like spring body is bent in a loop shape, and one end thereof is inserted into a lead wire insertion opening provided at the other end. A clamp spring, a contact terminal provided with a locking part inserted into the lead wire insertion port of the clamp spring at one end and a contact part connected to another connector at the other end, and the clamp spring and the contact terminal are accommodated. A connector housing having a housing chamber, and by bending the clamp spring and inserting the lead wire into the lead wire insertion port, and releasing the bending, the lead wire is neck-tightened in the lead wire insertion port In the connector to
A clamp spring reinforcing member made of a detachable elastic body is fitted into the inside of the clamp spring curved in a loop shape so as to be inscribed in an inner peripheral wall surface of the clamp spring.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the first aspect, the clamp spring is placed on the contact terminal and contacted with the contact terminal, and the curved portion extends from the contact part. The clamp spring reinforcing member is in contact with the curved spring portion from the contact portion.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the connector according to claim 2, wherein the contact portion and the curved spring portion of the clamp spring are bent in a U shape, and the clamp spring reinforcing member is The contact portion is in contact with the curved spring portion through a portion bent in a U shape from the contact portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the third aspect of the present invention, the clamp spring reinforcing member is formed so that one U-shaped opposing side is thicker than the other side and the thicker The protrusion part is formed in the position facing the other side of the edge part of one side, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to any of the first to fourth aspects, the reinforcing member is made of a synthetic resin material.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector capable of strong mechanical coupling and electrical connection without using a screw or the like for the lead wire. The spring force of the clamp spring is reinforced by the clamp spring reinforcing member made of an elastic body, that is, the spring force of the clamp spring and the elastic force of the clamp spring reinforcing member are added, and the neck of the lead wire, that is, the fastening force is The lead wire is increased and the lead wire is difficult to be removed from the lead wire insertion port, and contact failure due to loosening caused by vibration or the like can be prevented. Further, by making the clamp spring reinforcing member attachable to and detachable from the clamp spring, it can be easily repaired and replaced, and can be applied to an existing clamp spring.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the clamp spring reinforcing member is brought into contact with the curved portion of the clamp spring, excessive bending of the curved spring portion is prevented when the clamp spring is pressed. Bending or permanent deformation can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the reinforcing member is brought into contact with the curved spring portion from the contact portion of the clamp spring through the U-shaped bent portion, the reinforcing member is not bent or permanently deformed due to excessive bending of the clamp spring. It can be prevented and the spring force can be increased.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when one side of the clamp spring reinforcing member formed in a U shape according to the clamp spring is thicker than the other side, the elasticity based on the thin side is strong and stable. It becomes a spring side. In other words, this thin one side has a support point at the end of one side where the other side is extended, and the other side can be stably curved, and the elastic force can be increased. Further, the protrusion provided at the end of the one side functions as a stopper when the other side is excessively pressed, and can prevent excessive bending of the thin side. Of course, excessive bending of the clamp spring in contact with the clamp spring reinforcing member can also be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the reinforcing member can be made by resin molding, it is easy to manufacture and the cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a connector for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention to this connector, and is within the scope of the claims. Other embodiments included are equally applicable.

  FIG. 1 shows a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view of the connector viewed from one direction, FIG. 1 (b) is a perspective view of the connector viewed from the other direction, and FIG. FIG. 2A shows a state in which a part of the connector of FIG. 1 is cut, FIG. 2A is a partially sectional perspective view cut along line XX in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing cover attached to the connector housing, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a contact terminal, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a clamp spring, and FIG. 6 is a reinforcement. It is a perspective view of a member.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1 has a plurality of through holes 8 that respectively accommodate a plurality of contact terminals 14 and a release member (not shown) that is in communication with these through holes. And a connector housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) 2 having an opening 6a and an opening 7 into which a retainer 13 is connected to each through-hole 8 to fix the contact terminal 14 is inserted. A housing cover (hereinafter simply referred to as a cover) 10 to be mounted and a plurality of contact terminals 14 accommodated in each through hole 8 are provided. A plurality of contact terminals 14 are connected to clamp springs 15 that are curved in a loop.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 2 is formed of an elongated rectangular body having a predetermined lateral width, length, and height, with a center line (not shown) at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction as a boundary. The front portion is a thin flat portion 2a, and the rear portion is a raised portion 2c that is thickened through an inclined surface 2b. The flat portion 2a forms an insertion portion 3 to be inserted into an opening of another connector (not shown), and is divided into a comb shape by a plurality of slits 4 formed forward from the center line. Each of the divided insertion portions 3 _{1 to} 3 ₄ is provided with an erroneous insertion prevention key at a different position.
Further, the housing 2 is formed by integrally molding the housing 2 with locking means 5 that engages with other connectors on both side walls in the longitudinal direction. Each of the locking means 5 includes a locking piece 5a that is elastically deformed and an operation portion 5b that presses the locking piece 5a, and a locking claw is formed at the tip of the locking piece 5a.

The plurality of through holes 8 penetrate from the back surface to the front surface in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the through hole 8 penetrates the individual insertion portions 3 _{1 to} 3 ₄ in the flat portion 2 a, and the diameter of the hole is expanded to a size that can accommodate the clamp spring 15 in the raised portion 2 c. A housing chamber 9 for the clamp spring 15 is formed. The accommodation chamber 9 is formed for each through hole, and each accommodation chamber 9 is partitioned by a partition wall. Each storage chamber 9 has a wide opening 9a on the back surface side so that the clamp spring 15 can be stored from the back surface of the raised portion 2c, and the opening of the back portion 9b is narrowed by the inclined surface 2b. By forming the opening 9 a on the back side of the housing 2, it becomes easy to insert the contact terminal 14 to which the clamp spring 15 is attached. Further, on the back side of the raised portion 2c, there is a flange 2d whose upper and lower sides protrude so that the cover 10 can be mounted, and a small hole 6b for mounting the housing cover 10 is formed in the flange 2d. . In addition, an opening 6a into which the release member is inserted is formed on the upper surface of the raised portion 2c so as to communicate with each accommodation chamber.
Further, an opening 7 into which the retainer 13 is inserted is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 2 so as to communicate with each through hole 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the retainer 13 includes a flat piece 13 a having a size to be fitted into the opening 7, and a locking piece 13 b erected from a substantially central portion of the flat piece.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 10 is made of a plate-like body 11 having substantially the same outer shape as the rear shape of the housing 2, and is formed of the same synthetic resin as the housing.
The plate-like body 11 is formed with a lead wire insertion opening 12a and a locking hole 12b in which one end of the release member is locked at a position corresponding to each through hole 8 on the surface. Further, locking projections 12 c that are locked to the openings 6 b of the housing 2 are formed on the upper and lower side surfaces.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the contact terminal 14 includes a contact portion 14a that is contact-connected to a contact terminal (not shown) of another connector, a spring mounting portion 14b on which the clamp spring 15 is placed and fixed, and a contact portion. A plate-like spring body having a good conductivity is formed by bending or pressing, and has a locking portion 14c between 14a and the spring mounting portion 14b and locked to the retainer 13.

The contact portion 14a has a pair of contact pieces that hold the plug terminal when the contact terminal (not shown) of the other connector, that is, the plug terminal is inserted. The contact pieces face each other with a gap sandwiching the plug terminal therebetween, and in addition, the gap at the tip is enlarged to facilitate insertion of the plug terminal.
Further, the spring mounting portion 14b is provided at a position extending rearward from the contact piece, and a contact portion whose surface is flat so that a flat contact portion of the clamp spring 15 described later can be placed; It has a locking portion 14d that is inserted into the insertion port 16 and to which the protruding tip 17 of the clamp spring 15 is locked. The locking portion 14d is formed by bending the rear end of the contact terminal.

As shown in FIG. 5, the clamp spring 15 is formed of a strip-shaped spring body made of a highly conductive material having a predetermined thickness, width, and length, and has a loop shape curved in a substantially triangular shape in a side view. ing. The loop-shaped clamping spring 15 has a flat contact portion 15a in a triangular shape of the base, the first bending portion 15 ₁ and the first extending from the curved portion 15 _first contact portion 15a which is erected curved from the contact portion a curved spring portion 15b having a second curved portion 15 ₂ which is bent toward the one end, is formed at the distal end of the curved spring portion 15b, a lead clamp spring 15 prevents the insertion of the lead in the state not pressed The curved spring portion 15b has a free end, and an insertion port 16 through which the lead wire is inserted is formed in the vicinity of the free end portion. This insertion opening 16 is a so-called window-like opening that is elongated so that the other end of the clamp spring 15 can move in the longitudinal direction. That is, this window-like opening is surrounded by the opening frame 16a.
The first curved portion 15 ₁ provided at one end of the contact portion 15a is curved in a generally U-shaped, thereby so can exhibit a spring force. In addition, the tip of the other end of the contact portion is formed with a projecting tip 17 having a lateral width slightly narrower than the width of the insertion opening via shoulders on both sides.
The protruding tip 17 is inserted into an insertion port 16 provided at the free end of the curved spring portion 15b. At this time, the projecting tip portion 17 slides in the insertion port with the shoulder portion thereof being abutted and guided by the opening frame 16 a frame of the insertion port 16.

As shown in FIG. 6, the reinforcing member 18 is substantially U-shaped and has a size that can be inserted into the clamp spring, and is formed of a synthetic resin material. The reinforcing member 18 has a width substantially the same as the width of the clamp spring 15, a flat portion 18 a that is in contact with the contact portion 15 a of the clamp spring 15, and a curved extension extending from one end of the flat portion 18 a. It has an elastically deformable curved spring portion 18b which is curved so as to contact the _first and second curved portions 15 ₁ and 15 ₂ of the spring and has the curved portions 18 ₁ and 18 ₂ .
Flat portion 18a is formed from the thick curved spring portion 18b, U-shaped bottom, i.e. the curved section 18 ₁ for connecting the curved spring portion 18b and the flat portion 18a, similarly to the flat portion 18a in the thickness Is formed. Further, the end portion of the flat portion 18a, the opposed projections 18 ₀ is formed into a curved spring portion 18b.

When the flat portion 18a is made thick, the curved spring portion 18b becomes a stable spring piece having strong elasticity based on the flat portion 18a. That is, the curved spring portion 18b can be stably bent with the end portion of the flat portion 18a as a support point, and the elastic force can be increased.
Further, the projections 18 ₀ of the flat portion 18a serves as a stopper when the curved spring portion 18b is pressed excessively, it is possible to prevent excessive bending of the curved spring portion 18b. Of course, excessive bending of the clamp spring 15 against which the reinforcing member 18 abuts can also be prevented.

Next, the assembly of this connector and the lead wire connecting method will be described.
First, the clamp spring 15 is attached to the contact terminal 14. For this mounting, the engaging portion 14d of the contact terminal 14 is inserted into the insertion port 16 of the clamp spring 15, the contact portion 15a of the clamp spring 15 is placed on the flat surface of the mounting portion 14b of the contact terminal 14, and the clamp spring 15 The protruding tip portion 17 of the contact terminal 14 is locked to the locking portion 14 d of the contact terminal 14. With this attachment, the clamp spring 15 is placed on the flat surface of the contact terminal 14 and further connected to the contact terminal 14 by being locked by the locking portion 14d.

Next, the reinforcing member 18 is fitted into the loop-shaped clamp spring 15. This fitting is the bending portion 18 ₁ in the first bending portion 15 ₁ of the clamp spring of the reinforcing member 18, the contact portion 15a of the crank spring 15 a flat portion 18a of the reinforcing member 18, the curved spring portion 15b of the curved spring portion 18b To be brought into contact with each other.
After the reinforcing members 18 are fitted into the plurality of loop-shaped clamp springs 15 in this way, the assembly composed of the loop-shaped clamp springs 15 and the plurality of contact terminals 14 is respectively viewed from the back of the housing 2. Insert into the through hole 8. Each inserted contact terminal 14 positions and fixes the contact terminal 14 by locking the locking piece 13b and the locking portion 14c by inserting the retainer 13 through the opening 7 provided on the bottom surface of the housing 2. Thereafter, the cover 10 is attached to the back surface of the housing 2 to complete the connector 1.

Connection of a lead wire to the connector 1, by pressing the clamp spring 15 by inserting release member (not shown) from the opening 6a of the housing 2 downward, the second curved portion 15 ₂ of the clamp spring 15 downward Press. By this pressing, the free end portion of the curved spring portion 15b moves downward, and along with this movement, the lead wire insertion port 16 is also moved downward, the shielding by the lead wire shielding portion 15c is released, and the contact terminal 14 The rear end portion and the opening frame 16a of the insertion port 16 overlap, and a gap into which a lead wire can be inserted is formed. Then, the end of the lead wire is inserted into this gap, and then the release member is released. Then, the bent spring portion 15b is neck-tightened, that is, tightened to mechanically connect and electrically connect the end portion of the lead wire between the locking portion 14d of the contact terminal 14 and the opening frame 16a of the insertion opening by the restoring force of the spring. A connection is made.

  At this time, since the reinforcing member 18 is fitted in the loop of the clamp spring 15, the reinforcing member 18 moves following the clamp spring 15 by the pressing of the clamp spring 15 by the release member, and is also pressed by the release member. Is released, the reinforcing member 18 is restored together with the restoration of the clamp spring 15, and the lead wire is tightened by tightening the neck by both restoring forces of the clamp spring and the reinforcing member, so that mechanical connection and electrical connection are ensured. The

  As described above, according to the connector of the present invention, the lead wire can be mechanically coupled and electrically connected without using a screw, and the lead wire can be attached multiple times. Even so, the elastic force of the clamp spring 15 is not easily lowered by the reinforcing member 18.

FIG. 1 shows a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view of the connector viewed from one direction, FIG. 1 (b) is a perspective view of the connector viewed from the other direction, 2 shows a state in which a part of the connector of FIG. 1 is cut, FIG. 2 (a) is a partially sectional perspective view cut along line XX of FIG. 1 (a), and FIG. 2 (b) is FIG. A partial cross-sectional perspective view of (a) seen from another angle; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing cover attached to the connector housing; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a contact terminal, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a clamp spring, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional terminal block, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional connecting device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 (Connector) Housing 3 Insertion part 4 Slit 5 Locking means 6a Opening 8 Through hole 9 Accommodating chamber 10 (Housing) Cover 12a Lead wire insertion port 13 Retainer 14 Contact terminal 14a Contact part 14b Spring mounting part 14c (Retainer ) Locking part 14d (Clamp spring) Locking part 15 Clamp spring 15a Contact part 15b Curved spring part 15c Lead wire shielding part 16 Insertion port 16a Opening frame 17 Protruding tip 18 (Clamp spring) Reinforcing member 18a Flat part 18b Curved spring part 18 ₀ projections

Claims (5)

The conductive belt-like spring body is bent in a loop shape, and one end of the clamp spring is inserted into a lead wire insertion port provided at the other end, and one end is provided with a locking portion to be inserted into the lead wire insertion port of the clamp spring. A contact terminal having a contact portion connected to another connector at the other end, and a connector housing having a receiving chamber for receiving the clamp spring and the contact terminal, and bending the clamp spring to lead the lead wire In the connector for neck-tightening and connecting the lead wire into the lead wire insertion port by inserting the lead wire into the insertion port and releasing the bending,
A connector, wherein a clamp spring reinforcing member made of a detachable elastic body is fitted into an inner surface of the clamp spring so as to be inscribed inside the loop of the clamp spring.   The clamp spring is composed of a contact portion that is placed on the contact terminal and is in contact with the contact terminal, and a curved spring portion that extends from the contact portion and is curved and has the lead wire insertion opening formed at the tip portion. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the clamp spring reinforcing member is in contact with the curved spring portion from the contact portion.   The contact portion and the curved spring portion of the clamp spring are bent in a U shape, and the clamp spring reinforcing member is applied to the curved spring portion through a portion bent in a U shape from the contact portion. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the connector is in contact.   The clamp spring reinforcing member has a U-shaped opposing side formed thicker than the other side, and a protruding part is formed at a position facing the other side of the end of the thick side. The connector according to claim 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a synthetic resin material.

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