JP2009064685A - Contact pin with easy installation of seal material, and connector arranging the contact pin - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of installing a seal material without impairing waterproofness. <P>SOLUTION: The relief portion 19 is located at the right opposite face on the same circumference as the portion on which a lance locking part 18 of a contact pin 10 is located. The convex shape of the lance locking part 18 and the concave shape of the relief portion 19 offset each other, and a sudden change of the circumference length (outer circumference length) of the contact pin 10 is prevented and a uniform circumference length is secured throughout the whole length. As a result, when the contact pin 10 is inserted into a seal material 40, a local force is not caused to the seal material 40, and thereby the contact pin 10 can be penetrated through the seal material 40 without damaging the seal material 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact pin on which a seal material can be easily attached and a connector on which the contact pin is arranged. More specifically, the present invention relates to a contact pin that can be attached to the seal material without imposing an excessive burden on the seal material, and a connector equipped with the contact pin.

Today, there are many occasions when connectors are required to be waterproof. When manufacturing a waterproof connector, it is necessary to shield the opening surface of the housing that accommodates the contact pin connected to the electric wire and the fitting surface to be fitted with the corresponding connector with a sealing material. Here, as a method for shielding the opening surface of the housing, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. According to this technique, the gap between the electric wire formed on the opening surface and the housing is filled with a sealing material such as rubber or soft resin, thereby achieving shielding of the opening surface. An insertion hole smaller than the diameter of the electric wire is formed in the sealing material, and a contact pin passes through the insertion hole. The sealing material is attached to the position of the electric wire to be connected to the contact pin to ensure confidentiality with the electric wire and at the same time secure confidentiality with the housing. Since the opening surface of the housing covers the periphery of the electric wire connected to the contact pin without any gaps with this sealing material, this connector is waterproof.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-139248

  However, the contact pin is provided with a lance locking portion protruding from the surface for locking at a predetermined position of the housing. In the process of penetrating the contact pin through the sealing material, the lance locking portion applies a concentrated force to a portion where the surface of the insertion hole comes into contact. The concentrated force becomes maximum near the apex of the lance locking portion, and there is a risk that the sealing material may be deteriorated such as a crack starting from this point. Or even if it does not lead to a crack, there is a possibility that the rubber elasticity of the insertion hole which is in close contact with the surface of the contact pin to secure the waterproof property is deteriorated and the waterproof property of the connector is lowered.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contact pin that can be penetrated without overloading the sealing material, and a connector equipped with the contact pin. To do.

  (1) In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the contact pin of the present invention is a contact pin including a convex lance locking portion that locks on the lance of the housing, and includes a portion where the lance locking portion is located. The contact pin is provided with a concave relief portion formed by cutting out a part of the peripheral surface on the peripheral surface of the contact pin.

  In the case of the contact pin described in (1), since the concave relief portion is provided on a part of the peripheral surface of the contact pin including the portion where the lance latching portion is located, the convex shape of the lance latching portion and the relief The concave shape of the part cancels out, and a sudden change in the peripheral length (the outer peripheral length of the cross section of the contact pin) is suppressed over the entire length of the contact pin.

  The contact pin has a uniform circumferential length over almost the entire length because the contact pin is prevented from changing rapidly. By ensuring a uniform perimeter, local force is no longer concentrated on the surface of the insertion hole, as was the case with the prior art, when passing the contact pin through the sealing material. .

  The escape portion is preferably located on the same circumferential surface as the portion where the lance locking portion is located, and more preferably located on the surface facing the surface where the lance locking portion is located. This is because it is most effective for canceling the action of the lance locking portion to be in the directly opposed position. The shape may be a rectangular shape, a semicircular shape, or the like.

  Further, the size of the relief portion must be determined in consideration of the size of the corresponding lance. In order to improve the followability to the relief part (concave shape) of the sealing material, for example, the size of the lance is 0.4 mm in height (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) and the length (length in the longitudinal direction is the base) If the shape is rectangular, the relief portion preferably has a depth of 0.4 millimeters and a length of 0.5 millimeters. More preferably, the height is 0.4 millimeters and the length is 1 millimeter. More preferably, the height is 0.4 millimeters and the length is 2 millimeters. By ensuring the length, it is possible to cope with various rubber hardnesses.

  (2) The contact pin according to (1), wherein the relief portion is provided on a surface of the contact pin facing the surface on which the lance locking portion is located.

  Since the relief portion is a contact pin provided on the side facing the surface on which the lance locking portion is located, it is most effective for canceling the action due to the convex shape of the lance locking portion as described above.

  According to the present invention, the contact pin can be penetrated through the sealing material without imposing an excessive burden on the sealing material, so that a highly reliable waterproof connector can be obtained.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a contact pin according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the contact pin of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

  The contact pin 10 is a hollow cylindrical body having a square cross section obtained by mainly bending a plate-like metal cut into a predetermined shape. As the plate-like metal, a copper alloy such as phosphor bronze or beryllium copper, which is a good conductor and has rigidity, is generally selected. The surface is generally treated with solder plating or gold plating for rust prevention.

  At the tip of contact pin 10 (on the left side of the drawing), there is provided a connecting portion 11 that is open and accepts a male contact pin (not shown) for electrical and mechanical connection. The opening is defined by four surfaces including a bottom surface 15, side surfaces 16, 16 and a top surface 17 constituting the contact pin 10.

  A crimping portion 12 that is electrically and mechanically connected to the electric wire 30 is provided at the rear end (right side as viewed in the drawing) of the contact pin 10. The crimping part 12 consists of a wire barrel and an insulation barrel. The connecting portion 11 and the crimping portion 12 are connected by a connecting portion 13.

  The contact pin 10 includes a lance locking portion 18 on the top surface 17 of the connecting portion 13 that connects the connecting portion 11 and the crimping portion 12. The lance locking portion 18 is a convex body projecting upward from the top surface 17 and has a taper on the front end side (left side of the paper surface) and a lance (not shown) on the rear end side (right side of the paper surface). Stands vertically to lock onto. When the contact pin 10 is mounted on the housing, the lance locking portion 18 is locked to the lance to prevent the contact pin 10 from coming out backward.

  The lance locking part 18 prevents the contact pin 10 from coming off by locking with the lance. The size and position of the lance lock 18 must be considered in conjunction with the size and position of the lance. In the present embodiment, the height of the lance is 0.3 to 0.4 mm, and the length in the longitudinal direction is 0.8 to 1 mm. If it is too large, it will be difficult to attach the contact pin 10, and if it is too small, the function of preventing the contact pin 10 from coming off may not work.

  In addition, a relief part 19 is provided on the bottom surface 15 of the connecting part 13. The relief portion 19 is formed by cutting out a part of the connecting portion 13 from the bottom surface 15 to the side surfaces 16 and 16. The relief part 19 is located at the position of the bottom surface 15 facing the lance locking part 18 provided on the top surface 17 and has a height of 0.3 to 0.4 millimeters. The relief portion 19 is located in a position directly opposite to the lance locking portion 18 and has substantially the same height dimension. Therefore, the influence (action) of the convex shape of the lance locking portion 18 is the concave shape of the relief portion 19. Will be canceled.

  Accordingly, the circumferential length of the cross section at an arbitrary position of the contact pin 10 is substantially equal. That is, the circumferential length S0 at the front and rear positions of the lance locking portion 18 and the circumferential length S1 of the lance locking portion 18 are substantially equal (S0 = S1), and the circumferential length is locally extended over the entire length of the contact pin 10. There will be no such change. Of course, the present invention does not limit the position of the relief portion 19 to a position facing the lance locking portion 18.

  Moreover, in embodiment of this invention, it arrange | positions so that the position of the vertex of the lance latching | locking part 18 may be located in the center part of the longitudinal direction of the relief part 19 in the position which opposes. The longitudinal dimension of the relief part 19 is substantially equal to the longitudinal dimension of the lance locking part 18 (0.8 to 1 millimeter). By setting it as such a size, the followability to the escape part 19 of the silicone rubber which is the sealing material 40 when the contact pin 10 is attached to the sealing material 40 is improved. Needless to say, the technical scope of the present invention is not construed as being limited to the present embodiment, including numerical values relating to size and the like.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the process of penetrating the contact pin 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention through the sealing material 40 will be described. FIG. 4A is a view of a state before the contact pin is passed through the seal material. FIG. 4B is a view showing a state in which the contact pin is inserted into the sealing material. FIG. 4C is a view showing a state in which the contact pin has been passed through the seal material.

  The sealing material 40 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastic resin, and silicone rubber is preferable in consideration of durability, heat resistance, and the like. The hardness of the rubber (Shore hardness type A) is preferably 35 degrees to 70 degrees, more preferably 40 degrees to 65 degrees, and still more preferably 45 degrees to 60 degrees. The sealing material 40 is provided with an insertion hole 41 for the contact pin 10 in advance. The insertion hole 41 is a through hole, and the cross-sectional shape of the insertion hole 41 is substantially circular. In order to ensure adhesion between the sealing material 40 and the electric wire 30 connected to the contact pin 10, the diameter of the insertion hole 41 is made smaller than the diameter of the electric wire in consideration of the compression allowance ( (A) of FIG.

  As the contact pin 10 is inserted into the sealing material 40, the contact pin 10 advances while the diameter of the insertion hole 41 is sequentially increased along the taper at the tip of the contact pin 10. At this time, the sealing material 40 is pushed upward due to the convex shape of the lance locking portion 18. That is, the sealing material 40 is locally excessively deformed in this portion, and a tensile stress is applied to the continuous surrounding sealing material 40. Further, in this state, as the contact pin 10 is inserted, it sequentially moves forward, so that this force acts over almost the entire area of the insertion hole 41.

  However, at this time, the raised state of the sealing material 40 along the concave shape of the relief portion 19 is seen on the lower surface side of the contact pin 10. The raised state of the sealing material 40 occurs where the sealing material 40 faces the position where the sealing material 40 is pushed up. Further, the raised shape of the sealing material 40 substantially matches the concave shape of the sealing material 40 due to the lance locking portion 18 being pushed up ((B) of FIG. 4).

  That is, at this time, the local deformation caused by the lance locking portion 18 is almost canceled by the deformation caused by the relief portion 19. That is, the deformation of the seal material 40 generated in the concave relief portion 19 has a neutralizing effect on the local deformation of the seal material 40 generated by the convex shape of the lance locking portion 18. As a result, the concentration of local stress generated in the sealing material 40 is eliminated. Further, since the function of the relief portion 19 acts over the process of penetrating the contact pin 10 through the sealing material 40, a neutralizing action works over almost the entire area of the insertion hole 41 (FIG. 4 (C)).

  The insertion is completed when the contact pin 10 penetrates the sealing material 40 and the electric wire 30 at the rear end of the contact pin reaches a predetermined position ((C) in FIG. 4). The sealing material 40 through which the contact pin 10 has passed without undergoing local deformation is attached to the electric wire 30 at a predetermined position. Since the insertion hole 41 is not subjected to local deformation, the insertion hole 41 can be uniformly adhered to the electric wire 30 without being damaged such as cracking or tearing. As a result, waterproofing is ensured with high reliability.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the state of the sealing material 40 in the vicinity of the lance locking portion when the contact pin 10 passes through the sealing material 40 will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the sealing material in the vicinity of the lance locking portion through which the contact pin according to the embodiment of the present invention is passing. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA (line from the lance locking portion to the relief portion) of FIG. 4B. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4B (a line separated from the lance locking portion). FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the sealing material in the vicinity of the lance locking portion through which the contact pin of the prior art (when there is no escape portion) is passing. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the lance locking portion. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a portion that is not a lance locking portion.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the state of the sealing material 40 having a cross section along the line from the lance locking portion 18 to the relief portion 19 according to the embodiment of the present invention is the lance locking portion 18 in the vicinity of the lance locking portion 18. The sealing material 40 is deformed into a concave shape so as to be along the convex shape of the above, and in the vicinity of the relief portion 19, the whole is moved upward from the conventional position so that the sealing material 40 follows the notch shape. I understand.

  That is, at this position, on the upper side of the contact pin 10, the sealing material 40 along the lance locking portion 18 is deformed into a concave shape due to the convex shape protruding above the lance locking portion 18. Further, below the contact pin 10, the entire sealing material 40 along the bottom surface 15 is moved upward by the notch of the relief portion 19. That is, since the amount of deformation corresponding to the amount stretched by the upward push-up is generated by the escape portion 19, the two cancel each other (FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B). ).

  Therefore, the circumferential length S1 of the contact pin 10 where the lance locking portion 18 is located is substantially equal to the other average (the portion other than the lance locking portion 18 or the relief portion 19) circumferential length S0. (S1≈S0).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the state of the sealing material 140 in the cross section in the vicinity of the lance locking portion 118 according to the prior art is in the vicinity of the lance locking portion 118 so that the sealing material 140 follows the shape of the lance locking portion 118. Has been pushed up. On the other hand, there is no deformation that cancels out the thrust.

  That is, the circumferential length P1 where the lance locking portion 118 is located is larger than the average circumferential length P0 by an amount corresponding to the amount pushed upward (P1> P0).

  In this way, by providing the relief portion 19, the contact pin 10 is ensured to have a substantially uniform circumferential length over the entire length. This means that, when the contact pin 10 is inserted into the sealing material 40, the burden imposed on the sealing material 40 is reduced compared to the prior art.

  Next, a waterproof connector equipped with the contact pins 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of a waterproof connector equipped with contact pins according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The connector 100 is obtained by mounting the contact pin 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention on a box-shaped housing 50 made of synthetic resin. A shield packing (not shown) is attached to the fitting surface on the side (front side) fitted to the corresponding male connector in order to ensure waterproofness (confidentiality). On the side (rear side) to which the electric wire 30 is connected, the sealing material 40 described above is attached in order to ensure the waterproof property of the housing 50. The seal material 40 includes an individual seal material 42 that ensures waterproofness in units of contact pins (electric wires), and a family seal material 43 that secures waterproof properties by combining a plurality of contact pins (electric wires).

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1a) By providing the relief portion on the side facing the surface where the lance engagement portion is located, a substantially uniform circumferential length can be obtained over the entire length of the contact pin. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the sealing material and allow the contact pin (electric wire) to penetrate the sealing material.
(2a) Since the relief portion can be easily obtained by merely cutting out a part of the surface constituting the contact pin, a highly reliable waterproof connector can be easily obtained.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment described above, When it changes into another embodiment (another example) as follows, it is contained in the technical scope of this invention. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
(1b) In the above embodiment, the relief portion is provided on the side facing the surface on which the lance locking portion is located. However, the relief portion is not limited to the facing side, and is perpendicular to the surface on which the lance locking portion is positioned. You may provide in the surface located in. Even in such a configuration, the effects (1a) and (2a) can be obtained.

It is an appearance perspective view of a contact pin concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a side view of the contact pin of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the AA line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the process in which the contact pin 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention penetrates a sealing material. FIG. 4A is a view of a state before the contact pin is passed through the seal material. FIG. 4B is a view showing a state in which the contact pin is inserted into the sealing material. FIG. 4C is a view showing a state in which the contact pin has been passed through the seal material. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the lance latching | locking part vicinity in which the contact pin which concerns on embodiment of this invention is passing the sealing material. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA (line from the lance locking portion to the relief portion) of FIG. 4B. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the lance latching | locking part vicinity in which the contact pin of a prior art (when there is no escape part) is passing the sealing material. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the lance locking portion. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a portion that is not a lance locking portion. It is an external appearance perspective view of the waterproof connector which attached the contact pin of embodiment of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the contact pin of other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Contact pin 11 Connection part 12 Crimp part 13 Connection part 15 Bottom face 16 Side face 17 Top face 18 118 Lance latching part 19 219 Escape part 30 Electric wire 40 140 Seal material 41 Insertion hole 42 Individual seal material 43 Family seal material 50 Housing 100 Connector

Claims (3)

A contact pin provided with a convex lance locking portion for locking to the lance of the housing,
On the peripheral surface of the contact pin including the portion where the lance locking portion is located,
A contact pin comprising a recessed relief portion formed by cutting out a part of the peripheral surface. The relief part according to claim 1,
A contact pin provided on the surface of the contact pin facing the surface on which the lance locking portion is located.   A connector equipped with any one of the contact pins according to claim 1.

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