JP2010137808A - Sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor which can be easily connected to an external lead wire to establish electric connection with the external lead wire in a short time. <P>SOLUTION: The sensor includes a tubular sensor body 201 having at least one electrode and an aperture formed on an end surface, and an end cap 301 having an insertion portion 303 which is inserted from the aperture of the sensor body 201 to the inside of the sensor body 201 and has an outer surface abutting against the inner wall surface of the sensor body 201, a connector 355 which is arranged on the insertion portion 303 and exposed to the outside of the sensor body 201, and a conductive portion 401 which has one end abutting against the electrode of the sensor body 201 to be electrically connected to the electrode and the other end electrically connected to a connector pin of the connector portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sensor that is provided at one of an opening of a vehicle body and an opening / closing member that opens and closes the opening and is molded with resin at an end.

  A sliding door (opening / closing member) that is provided so as to be movable along the side wall of the vehicle body and opens and closes an opening formed in the side wall of the vehicle body is arranged along the front vertical direction in the closing direction when the sliding door is closed. A tube-shaped sensor that detects the presence of foreign matter between the front surface of the slide door and the edge of the opening is provided.

  This tube-shaped sensor is provided with a plurality of electrode wires at intervals inside an elastic tube. When the tube is pressed and crushed by a foreign material, the electrode wire contacts and short-circuits to detect the foreign material. Is done.

And the end surface of a tube-shaped sensor is an opening. After the electrode wire and the lead wire from the control device are electrically connected, resin molding is performed to close the opening (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3479229

  The electrical connection between the sensor electrode and the lead wire that connects the sensor signal processing circuit (ECU: Electric Control Unit) is caulked, soldered, or welded to ensure reliability. It is done in.

However, caulking, soldering, and welding are time consuming and require detailed equipment and advanced technology because they are fine work.
In addition, there is a problem that electrical connection is made to parts that should not be connected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a sensor that can be easily connected to a circuit-side lead wire that captures and processes a sensor signal and can be connected in a short time. is there.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a sensor provided in one of an opening of a vehicle body and an opening / closing member that opens and closes the opening, and a tube-shaped sensor body having an opening at an end face and having at least one electrode. And an insertion portion that is inserted from the opening of the sensor body toward the inside of the sensor body, and a peripheral surface is in contact with an inner wall surface of the sensor body, and a connector that is provided in the insertion portion and is exposed to the outside of the sensor body And an end cap formed of a conductive portion whose one end is in contact with the electrode of the sensor main body and is electrically connected to the electrode, and whose other end is electrically connected to the connector pin of the connector portion. It is a sensor characterized by this.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the insertion portion of the end cap includes an insertion portion main body whose peripheral surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the sensor main body, and a flange portion that is formed on the insertion portion main body and is in contact with the end surface of the sensor main body. The sensor according to claim 1, comprising:

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the sensor body includes a tube-shaped outer electrode portion made of a conductive resin, and a joint portion made of an insulating resin formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer electrode portion along the longitudinal direction of the tube. The inner electrode portion made of a conductive resin, which is formed along the longitudinal direction on the joint portion, and a groove through which the joint portion and the inner electrode portion of the sensor body of the sensor body are inserted into the insertion portion of the end cap The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is formed.

  In addition, in this specification, the inside of a sensor main body means the hollow part and wall part of a tube-shaped sensor main body.

  According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, an opening is formed in the end face, and the tube-shaped sensor main body having at least one electrode is inserted into the sensor main body from the opening of the sensor main body. An insertion portion whose peripheral surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the sensor body, a connector portion that is exposed to the outside of the sensor body, and one end side of which is in contact with the electrode of the sensor body, An end cap made of a conductive portion electrically connected and having the other end side electrically connected to the connector pin of the connector portion, thereby obtaining a signal on the circuit side for processing the sensor signal in the connector portion. By connecting the connector provided on the lead wire, connection with the lead wire is easy, and electrical connection can be made in a short time.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the insertion portion of the end cap includes an insertion portion main body whose peripheral surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the sensor main body, and a flange that is formed on the insertion portion main body and is in contact with the end surface of the sensor main body. If the insertion part is inserted into the sensor body until the flange part comes into contact with the end surface of the sensor body, the end cap is positioned in the longitudinal direction of the sensor body with respect to the sensor body. Pushing into the sensor body can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the sensor body includes a tube-shaped outer electrode portion made of a conductive resin and a bonding made of an insulating resin formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer electrode portion along the longitudinal direction of the tube. And an inner electrode portion made of a conductive resin formed along the longitudinal direction on the joint portion. The joint portion and the inner electrode portion of the sensor body of the sensor body are inserted into the insertion portion of the end cap. When the end cap insertion portion is inserted into the sensor body, the end cap is positioned in the circumferential direction of the sensor body relative to the sensor body, and the rotation of the end cap can be prevented. .

  First, the sliding door provided with the tube-shaped sensor of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the sliding door, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a cutting line BB in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the slide door 105 is provided in the opening 103 of the vehicle body 101 so that it can be opened and closed. Reference numeral 102 denotes a front door body. As shown in FIG. 11, the slide door 105 includes a slide door main body 107 that closes the opening 103 of the vehicle body 101, and the slide door main body 107 has a front side in the closing direction and a rear side in the opening direction. The slider 109 is rotatably provided at the rear portion, and a guide 111 with which the slider 109 is movably engaged.

  In the case of an electric slide door, a wire wound around a drum is connected to the slide door main body 107, and the slide door main body 107 moves along the guide 111 by rotating the drum and pulling the wire. .

  A convex stopper 107 a is provided on the front surface of the slide door main body 107, and a concave stopper 103 a that can contact the convex stopper 107 a is provided on the pillar 100 that forms the opening 103.

  The guide 111 includes a main body 113 provided on the vehicle body 101 on the rear side of the opening 103, and a curved portion 115 that is connected to the main body 113 and curves toward the inside of the vehicle body 101 through the opening 103. Yes. The curved portion 115 of the guide 111 is a direction in which the rear portion of the slide door body 107 is pulled into the opening 103 in a state where the stopper 107a of the slide door body 107 is in contact with the stopper 103a of the opening 103 when the slide door body 107 is fully closed. To guide you.

A tube-shaped sensor 200 is provided on the inner front portion of the slide door main body 107 along the vertical direction.
Next, the sensor 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sensor of FIG. 11, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the section line AA of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a front view of the end cap of FIG. 5 is a left side view of FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a right side view of FIG. 3, FIG. 7 is a perspective view in which an insertion portion main body of the end cap is broken, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining a connector of the end cap. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 200 includes a tube-shaped sensor main body 201, an end cap 301 provided at the end of the sensor main body 201, and a resin mold portion 401 that covers the end of the sensor main body 201 and the end cap 301. It is made up of.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor main body 201 includes a sensor portion 203 that emits a signal when it is crushed, and a mounting portion 205 that is attached to a mounting portion (for example, a hemming portion) formed on the slide door main body 107 described above. ing.

  The sensor unit 203 includes a tube-shaped outer electrode portion 204 made of a styrene-based soft conductive resin, and a joint portion 206 made of a styrene-based soft insulating resin formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer electrode portion 204 along the longitudinal direction. And an inner electrode portion 207 formed along the longitudinal direction on the joint portion 206 and made of a styrenic soft conductive resin. Further, electrode lines 209 and 211 made of metal wires are embedded in the outer electrode portion 204 and the inner electrode portion 207 along the longitudinal direction in order to achieve equal sensitivity over the entire sensor.

  The outer electrode unit 204 is connected to a detection circuit (ECU: Electric Control Unit) that takes in and processes a sensor signal via a lead wire described later. As an example of the detection circuit, there is a circuit that detects the presence or absence of foreign matter contact with the outer electrode portion 204 based on the capacitance of the outer electrode portion 204. The presence / absence of contact is detected based on a predetermined threshold.

  The inner electrode portion 207 is equalized over the entire length because the electrode wire 211 and the inner electrode portion 207 have conductivity. Further, the inner electrode portion 207 is connected to the ground of a door or an electric circuit via a lead wire 231 described later, whereby the inner electrode portion 207 becomes a ground electrode.

Next, the end cap 301 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The end cap 301 has an insertion portion 303 that is inserted from the opening of the sensor body 201 toward the inside of the sensor body 201. The insertion portion 303 includes an insertion portion main body 303 a whose peripheral surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the sensor main body 201, and a flange portion 303 b that is formed in the insertion portion main body 303 a and is in contact with the end surface of the sensor main body 201.

Further, the insertion portion main body 303a is formed with a groove 303c through which the joint portion 206 of the sensor portion 203 of the sensor main body 201 and the inner electrode portion 207 are inserted.
A connector (connector portion) that has two connector pins 351 and 353 on the surface opposite to the surface that contacts the end surface of the sensor body 201 of the flange portion 303b and is exposed to the outside of the sensor body 201. 355 is provided.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 8, a portion of the peripheral surface of the insertion main body portion 303 a that faces the inner peripheral surface of the external electrode portion 204 of the sensor main body 201. Is formed with an external conductive portion 501 that can be electrically connected to the external electrode portion 204 of the sensor body 201. The external electrode 501 is connected to the connector pin 351 of the connector 355.

  In addition, an inner conductive portion 503 that can be electrically connected to the inner electrode portion 207 of the sensor main body 201 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the groove 303c and facing the inner electrode portion 207 of the sensor main body 201. Is formed. The external electrode 503 is connected to the connector pin 353 of the connector 355.

  In this embodiment, the end cap 301 is formed by performing resin insert molding on the first part in which the external electrode part 501 and the connector pin 351 are integrally formed, and on the second part in which the internal electrode part 503 and the connector pin 353 are integrally formed. Manufactured. It should be noted that the end cap 301 of the resin is molded first, and the first part in which the external electrode portion 501 and the connector pin 351 are integrally formed, and the second part in which the internal electrode portion 503 and the connector pin 353 are integrally formed are formed as the end cap 301. May be plugged into.

The connector 353 is connected to a lead wire 361 from a detection circuit (ECU) that takes in and processes the signal of the sensor 200 and a waterproof connector 365 provided on the lead wire 363.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1, when the connector 355 and the connector 365 are connected,
The resin mold part 401 which covers the end part of the sensor main body 201 and the end cap 301 is formed by resin molding.

  In this embodiment, the connector 355 and the connector 365 are waterproof, so that the resin molded portion 401 is not covered with the connector 355 and the connector 365. Thereby, the connector 355 and the connector 365 can be attached and detached even after the molding of the resin mold portion 401.

  However, as shown in FIG. 9, when the connector 355 'and the connector 365' are not waterproof, the resin mold part 401 'covers the connector 355' and the connector 365 '.

According to such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) By connecting the lead wire 361 on the ECU side and the connector 365 on the lead wire 363 side to the connector 355 of the end cap 301, connection is easy and electrical connection can be made in a short time.

 (2) The insertion portion 303 a of the end cap 301 includes an insertion portion main body 303 a whose peripheral surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the sensor main body 201, and a flange portion 303 b that is formed on the insertion portion main body 303 a and is in contact with the end surface of the sensor main body 201 If the insertion portion 303a is inserted into the sensor main body 201 until the flange portion 303b contacts the end surface of the sensor main body 201, the end cap 301 in the sensor main body longitudinal direction is positioned with respect to the sensor main body 201. Further, it is possible to prevent the end cap 301 from being pushed into the sensor body 201.

 (3) The sensor body 201 includes a tube-shaped outer electrode portion 204 made of conductive resin, a joint portion 206 made of insulating resin formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer electrode portion 20 along the longitudinal direction of the tube, The inner electrode portion 207 made of a conductive resin is formed on the portion 206 along the longitudinal direction. The insertion portion 303a of the end cap 301 is connected to the joint portion 206 of the sensor portion 203 of the sensor body 201 and the inner electrode portion 207. By forming the groove 303c through which the end cap 301 is inserted, if the insertion portion 303a of the end cap 301 is inserted into the sensor body 201, the end cap 301 is positioned in the circumferential direction of the sensor body with respect to the sensor body 201. The rotation of the end cap 301 can be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The sensor of the above-described embodiment is a type that detects the presence or absence of contact of foreign matter by the change in capacitance, but detects the presence or absence of contact of objects by contact of electrode wires as described in the background art section. It may be a type.

It is sectional drawing of the longitudinal direction of the sensor of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the cutting line AA of FIG. It is a front view of the end cap of FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a left side view of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 3. It is the perspective view which fractured | ruptured the insertion part main body of the end cap. It is a perspective view explaining the connector of an end cap. It is a figure explaining the other example of a form. It is a figure explaining a sliding door. It is sectional drawing in the cutting line BB of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

201 Sensor body 301 End cap 303 Insertion part 355 Connector (connector part)
401 Outside conductive part

Claims (3)

In the sensor provided in one of the opening of the vehicle body and the opening / closing member that opens and closes the opening,
An opening formed in the end face, and a tubular sensor body having at least one electrode;
An insertion portion that is inserted from the opening of the sensor body toward the inside of the sensor body, and a peripheral surface is in contact with an inner wall surface of the sensor body; a connector portion that is provided in the insertion portion and is exposed to the outside of the sensor body; An end cap made of a conductive portion with one end side in contact with the electrode of the sensor body and electrically connected to the electrode, and the other end side electrically connected to a connector pin of the connector portion;
A sensor characterized by comprising: The insertion part of the end cap is
An insertion portion body whose peripheral surface abuts against the inner wall surface of the sensor body;
The sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a flange portion formed on the insertion portion main body and abutting against an end surface of the sensor main body. The sensor body is
A tube-shaped outer electrode portion made of conductive resin, a joint portion made of an insulating resin formed along the longitudinal direction of the tube on the inner peripheral surface of the outer electrode portion, and formed along the longitudinal direction on the joint portion; It consists of an inner electrode part made of conductive resin,
The sensor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a groove through which a joint portion and an inner electrode portion of the sensor main body are inserted is formed in the insertion portion of the end cap.

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