JP2011049115A - Connector member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector member capable of easily performing connection work while improving the reliability of connection by increasing a contact load to a terminal. <P>SOLUTION: In order to connect a connector at a side of a drive circuit and a connector at a side of a control substrate, a terminal 24 in a shape of a pin which projects from a housing of the connector at the side of the drive circuit is inserted between a first beam 42 and a second beam 43 of a female terminal 40 located in a slot 36 in a state that the terminal 24 is inserted into the slot 36 at a connector side at the side of the control substrate. Then, when an insertion part 53 of a retainer 50 is inserted into the slot 36, a tip 42f of a beam 42d at a side of a tip of the first beam 42 is pressed in a direction in which it approaches the second beam 43 by the insertion part 53 and a contact part 42c of the first beam 42 and a contact part 43c of the second beam 43 sandwich the terminal 24 to generate a contact load to the terminal 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector member used when, for example, a motor drive circuit and a control board for controlling the operation of the drive circuit are connected.

  When connecting a motor drive circuit and a control board that controls the operation of the drive circuit, a terminal protruding from the device side is inserted into a through-hole formed in the control board, and the terminal and the through-hole are inserted through the through-hole. In general, soldering is performed on a conductive wire pattern around the wire.

  On the other hand, there is a demand for separating the motor side drive circuit and the control board for maintenance and repair. However, it is difficult to remove the control board from the drive circuit on the motor side with the conventional method of soldering the terminal and the conductor pattern of the control board, and there are problems in terms of workability and reliability. .

  On the other hand, although the connection between the motor drive circuit and the control board is different, various configurations have been proposed in which the electrical connection with the terminal can be made detachable by using a connector having an elastic piece. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 5.)

JP 2009-37924 A JP 2000-357552 A JP 2009-37899 A JP 2008-305727 A JP 2004-39479 A

In the connection between the motor driving circuit and the control board as described above, a higher level of reliability may be required as compared with a general electrical connector. For this reason, it is difficult to achieve the required reliability level by simply applying the technique having the configuration described in Patent Documents 1 to 5.
In order to increase the reliability of electrical connection, it is preferable to increase the crimping force (contact load) of the terminal. In order to increase the crimping force of the terminal, it is better to increase the elastic force of the elastic piece of the terminal, but if the elastic force of the elastic piece is increased, the insertion resistance of the terminal at the time of connection increases, and the motor drive circuit There arises a problem that connection with the control board becomes difficult.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector member that can easily perform a connection operation while increasing the contact load to the terminals to increase the connection reliability. And

Under such a purpose, the connector member of the present invention is a second terminal disposed along the side of the first terminal to be connected, a pressing member that presses the second terminal toward the first terminal, The second terminal is formed with a bent portion protruding toward the first terminal side at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction, and the pressing member presses the bent portion of the second terminal against the side surface of the first terminal. In this state, the position on the tip side of the bent portion is pressed.
In such a connector member, when the bending portion of the second terminal is pressed against the side surface of the first terminal and the position on the tip side of the bending portion is pressed by the pressing member, a large force is applied to the bending portion by the lever principle. And the contact load between the second terminal and the first terminal can be increased. For this reason, it is preferable that a press member presses the front-end | tip part vicinity of a 2nd terminal.

The housing further includes a housing for accommodating the second terminal, and the recess is inserted into the first terminal when the first terminal is connected to the second terminal, so that the second terminal becomes the first terminal. Preferably, the pressing member is inserted between the inner peripheral surface of the recess and the second terminal, thereby pressing the position closer to the tip than the bent portion of the second terminal.
Therefore, it is preferable that the second terminal has a shape in which a beam portion gradually separated from the first terminal side is formed from the bent portion toward the tip portion.
And it is preferable that a press member is inserted in the direction orthogonal to the press direction of a 2nd terminal with respect to the recessed part of a housing. According to such a configuration, it is possible to ensure a large contact load with respect to the first terminal at the bent portion of the second terminal while keeping the insertion force of the pressing member into the housing small.
In order to further suppress the insertion force of the pressing member into the housing, it is preferable that the pressing member has a shape in which the tip end portion becomes gradually narrower as it goes to the tip end.

  The second terminal may have a first beam having a bent portion and a tip portion, and a second beam provided in parallel with the first beam. In the recess, the second terminal is located between the first beam and the second beam, and is pressed between the bent portion of the first beam and the second beam in a state where the tip portion is pressed by the pressing member. To insert the first terminal.

  Such a first terminal and a second terminal can be used for connecting any device or circuit. For example, the first terminal protrudes from a drive circuit unit for driving a motor by converting a DC voltage supplied from a DC power source into an AC voltage, and the second terminal is a control for controlling the operation of the drive circuit unit. It can be provided on the substrate.

According to the present invention, when the bending portion of the second terminal is pressed against the side surface of the first terminal and the position on the tip side of the bending portion is pressed by the pressing member, a large force is applied to the bending portion due to the lever principle. And the contact load between the second terminal and the first terminal can be increased. Thereby, the contact load of a 1st terminal and a 2nd terminal can be raised and connection reliability can be improved.
If the pressing member is inserted in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the second terminal with respect to the concave portion of the housing in which the second terminal is accommodated, the insertion force of the pressing member into the housing is kept small, A large contact load with respect to the first terminal at the bent portion of the second terminal can be secured, and the connection work can be easily performed.

It is a figure which shows the connector member in this Embodiment, (a) is a front view, (b) is a sectional side view. It is a three-plane figure which shows the connector by the side of a drive circuit part, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the transition of a deformation | transformation of a female terminal when pushing in a retainer. It is a figure which shows the flow when releasing the lock | rock of a retainer. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of pushing in a retainer from a horizontal direction.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
In the present embodiment, the motor includes a drive circuit including a switching element composed of a plurality of IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) that convert the DC voltage from the battery into an AC voltage to drive the motor, And a control board for controlling the operation of the switching element of the circuit.

  In the control board, by controlling the opening and closing of a plurality of IGBTs (not shown) constituting the switching elements of the drive circuit, the DC voltage from the battery is converted into an AC voltage and supplied to the motor.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 22 of the connector 20 on the drive circuit side is formed with a projecting connection block 23, for example, having a generally block shape, for connecting the control board 31. The connection block 23 includes a plurality of pin-like terminals (first terminals) 24 connected to each phase of each gate element (not shown) of the switching element of the connector 20 on the drive circuit side and other control elements, and a control board. It protrudes toward the side to which 31 is connected.

  In addition, columnar guide posts 23 a and 23 a that protrude toward the side to which the control board 31 is connected are formed on both sides of the connection block 23.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the connector 30 on the control board 31 side is provided on the control board 31 on which various electronic components constituting the control circuit are mounted, and includes a housing 32 that receives each terminal 24. I have.
In the control board 31 and the housing 32, positioning holes (not shown) are formed at positions corresponding to the guide posts 23a of the connection block 23, and by inserting the guide posts 23a into these through holes, The positioning of the housing 22 of the connector 20 on the drive circuit side with respect to the housing 32 is facilitated. For this reason, in order to facilitate the insertion into the positioning hole, the distal end portion of the guide post 23a is preferably formed in a spherical shape, a tapered shape, a chamfered shape, or the like that becomes smaller in diameter toward the distal end.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a through hole 34 is formed in the control board 31 at a position corresponding to each terminal 24.
The housing 32 is fixed on the control board 31 via a fixing pin 35 or the like. Slots (recesses) 36 are formed in the housing 32 at positions corresponding to the terminals 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 4, each slot 36 accommodates a female terminal (second terminal) 40 that is electrically connected to each terminal 24.
In the female terminal 40, a lead-out portion 41 led out of the housing 32 is electrically connected to a wiring circuit pattern (not shown) formed on the control board 31 by soldering or the like.
The female terminal 40 is bifurcated in the slot 36, and a first beam 42 and a second beam 43 are formed. The first beam 42 and the second beam 43 extend from the lead-out portion 41 toward the control board 31 side, that is, the side where each terminal 24 is inserted.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the first beam 42 penetrates the control board 31 and the housing 32, and the terminal 24 is inserted into the slot 36 in the state where the terminal 24 is on the distal end portion 24a side (leading portion 41). A proximal end portion 42a located at a position spaced from the terminal 24 in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the terminal 24, and a proximal end beam 42b extending obliquely from the proximal end portion 42a toward the terminal 24. A contact portion (bent portion) 42c that abuts against the side surface of the terminal 24 on the distal end side of the proximal end side beam 42b, and a distal end side beam (beam portion) that is bent at the contact portion 42c and extends obliquely toward the side away from the terminal 24. 42d. Here, the first beam 42 is formed so that the beam length of the distal end side beam 42d is larger than the beam length of the proximal end side beam 42b.

In the state where the terminal 24 is inserted into the slot 36, the second beam 43 is located on the distal end portion 24 a side of the terminal 24 at a position spaced apart from the terminal 24 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the terminal 24. And a base end side beam 43b extending obliquely from the base end portion 43a toward the terminal 24 and a tip end of the base end side beam 43b at a position facing the contact portion 42c of the first beam 42. A contact portion 43c that abuts against the side surface of the terminal 24, and a distal end side beam 43d that is bent at the contact portion 43c and extends obliquely toward the side away from the terminal 24 are formed.
Here, the proximal end portion 43 a and the distal end portion 43 e of the distal end side beam 43 d are formed to abut against the inner peripheral surface 36 a on one side of the slot 36. In the present embodiment, the second beam 43 is formed with a flat plate portion 43 f that is continuous with the distal end portion 43 e and extends along the inner peripheral surface 36 a of the slot 36. As a result, the second beam 43 is in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the terminal 24 when the base end portion 43a, the tip end portion 43e, and the flat plate portion 43f abut against the inner peripheral surface 36a of the slot 36. The amount of deformation in the direction away from the center is suppressed.

  Each slot 36 is formed such that an inner peripheral surface 36 b on the side facing the first beam 42 is spaced from the first beam 42.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a retainer 50 for increasing the contact load between the female terminal 40 and the terminal 24 can be attached to the housing 32. Therefore, a locking projection 37 is formed on the housing 32 so as to protrude. The retainer 50 is separate from the housing 32 and is mounted when the female terminal 40 and the terminal 24 are connected.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the retainer 50 is formed with a locking piece 51 protruding. A locking claw 51 a that engages with the locking projection 37 and a release projection 51 b that is positioned above the locking projection 37 are formed at the distal end of the locking piece 51 so as to protrude laterally. .

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 4, the retainer 50 is formed with a rod-like insertion portion (pressing member) 53 to be inserted into the slot 36 at a position corresponding to each slot 36 formed in the housing 32. Has been. The insertion portion 53 is inserted into a gap between the first beam 42 and the inner peripheral surface 36 b on the side facing the first beam 42 in the slot 36.
The thickness of the insertion portion 53 in the direction connecting the first beam 42 and the inner peripheral surface 36b of the slot 36 is such that the front end portion 42f of the front end side beam 42d of the first beam 42 and the inner peripheral surface 36b of the slot 36 are. It is set larger than the gap dimension.

When connecting the connector 20 on the drive circuit side and the connector 30 on the control board 31 side, the guide posts 23 a protruding from the housing 22 of the connector 20 are inserted into through holes formed in the control board 31 and the housing 32. Then, the pin-like terminal 24 protruding from the housing 22 is inserted into the slots 36 and 36 through the through hole 34.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the terminal 24 is inserted between the first beam 42 and the second beam 43 of the female terminal 40 located in the slots 36 and 36. At this time, the first beams 42 and 43 are not applied with a force in a direction approaching each other, and the terminal 24 can be easily inserted between the first beam 42 and the second beam 43.

After the terminal 24 is inserted until the connection block 23 of the connector 20 on the drive circuit side and the control board 31 abut against each other, the insertion portion 53 of the retainer 50 is inserted into each slot 36 formed in the housing 32. Then, the insertion portion 53 is inserted into the gap between the first beam 42 and the inner peripheral surface 36 b on the side facing the first beam 42 in the slot 36. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the insertion portion 53 is inserted, the thickness of the insertion portion 53 is such that the distal end portion 42 f of the distal end side beam 42 d of the first beam 42 and the inner peripheral surface 36 b of the slot 36. Therefore, the first beam 42 is pressed in the direction approaching the second beam 43.
As a result, first, the contact portion 42c of the first beam 42 is pressed against the terminal 24 and comes into contact. When the insertion portion 53 is further inserted into the slot 36, the contact portion 42 c of the first beam 42 and the contact portion 43 c of the second beam 43 sandwich the terminal 24 and exert a contact load on the terminal 24. Here, the distal end portion 53a of the insertion portion 53 has a tapered shape that decreases in thickness as it goes to the distal end. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the tapered distal end portion 53a of the insertion portion 53 passes the distal end portion 42f of the distal end side beam 42d of the first beam 42, FIG. As shown, the amount of deformation of the tip side beam 42d of the first beam 42 is maximized. The contact load at this time becomes large due to the lever principle when the insertion portion 53 presses the distal end portion 42f of the distal end side beam 42d extending from the contact portion 42c.

  In a state where the retainer 50 is completely attached to the housing 32, as shown in FIG. 5A, the locking claw 51a of the locking piece 51 engages with the locking projection 37 of the housing 32, thereby the retainer 50. Is fixed so as not to fall off the housing 32.

  When the retainer 50 is removed from such a state, a tool T such as a precision screwdriver is inserted between the locking piece 51 and the locking projection 37 as shown in FIG. Then, the release projection 51b is pressed by the inserted tool T, and thereby the locking piece 51 is elastically deformed in a direction away from the locking projection 37, and the engagement between the locking claw 51a and the locking projection 37 is increased. The match is released. In this state, the retainer 50 can be pulled out.

According to the configuration described above, the pin-like terminal 24 protruding from the housing 22 on the drive circuit side is connected to the connector 30 on the control circuit board 31 side in order to connect the connector 20 on the drive circuit side and the connector 30 on the control board 31 side. The terminal 24 is inserted between the first beam 42 and the second beam 43 of the female terminal 40 located in the slot 36 while being inserted into the slot 36 of the connector 30. When the insertion portion 53 of the retainer 50 is inserted into the slot 36, the distal end portion 42 f of the distal end side beam 42 d of the first beam 42 is pressed by the insertion portion 53 in a direction approaching the second beam 43. As a result, the terminal 24 is sandwiched between the contact portion 42 c of the first beam 42 and the contact portion 43 c of the second beam 43, and a contact load on the terminal 24 is exhibited. The contact load at this time becomes large due to the lever principle when the insertion portion 53 presses the distal end portion 42f of the distal end side beam 42d extending from the contact portion 42c.
Therefore, the contact load between the terminal 24 and the female terminal 40 can be increased to improve the connection reliability. Moreover, since the insertion portion 53 of the retainer 50 is configured to be inserted into the slot 36 in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the first beam 42, the insertion force of the retainer 50 can be kept small, and the connection Work can be done easily.

In addition, in the said embodiment, although the retainer 50 was set as the structure attached or detached along the protrusion direction of the terminal 24, it is not restricted to this. For example, the retainer 50 can be configured to be attached and detached in a direction orthogonal to the protruding direction of the terminal 24.
As shown in FIG. 6, such a retainer 50 ′ includes two insertion portions (pressing members) 55, 55 provided in pairs for each female terminal 40 and a pressing portion that presses the upper portion of the female terminal 40. 56.

After the connector 20 on the drive circuit side and the connector 30 on the control board 31 side are connected, the retainer 50 ′ is mounted from the direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the terminal 24 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6). 55 and 55 are inserted outside the contact portion 42 c of the first beam 42 and the contact portion 43 c of the second beam 43. Then, the inserted insertion portions 55 and 55 press the distal end side beam 42d of the first beam 42 and the distal end side beam 43d of the second beam 43 inward, so that the distal end side beam 42d of the first beam 42 and The deformation amount of the tip side beam 43d of the second beam 43 is maximized, and a large contact load is exerted on the terminal 24 at the contact portions 42c and 43c.
In this state, the upper portion of the female terminal 40 is pressed by the pressing portion 56, and the terminal is prevented from being lifted.

  Such a retainer 50 'can be attached to the housing 32 by a locking projection or the like (not shown). It is preferable that the locking by the locking projection can be easily released by a driver or the like, as shown in FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a motor as a preferred example has been described. However, the present invention is applicable to motors for other applications as long as the motor drive circuit unit and the control board are connected. Is applicable.
In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Connector, 22 ... Housing, 23 ... Connection block, 24 ... Terminal (first terminal), 30 ... Connector, 31 ... Control board, 32 ... Housing, 36 ... Slot (recess), 37 ... Locking protrusion, 40 ... Female terminal (second terminal), 42 ... first beam, 42c ... contact part (bent part), 42d ... front end side beam (beam part), 43 ... second beam, 43c ... contact part, 43d ... front end side beam, 50, 50 '... retainer, 51 ... locking piece, 51a ... locking claw, 51b ... release protrusion, 53, 55 ... insertion part (pressing member)

Claims (8)

A second terminal arranged along the side of the first terminal to be connected;
A pressing member that presses the second terminal toward the first terminal,
The second terminal is formed with a bent portion projecting toward the first terminal side at an intermediate portion thereof,
The said pressing member presses the position of the front end side rather than the said bending part in the state which pressed the said bending part of the said 2nd terminal against the side surface of the said 1st terminal, The connector member characterized by the above-mentioned.   The connector member according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member presses the vicinity of the tip of the second terminal.   2. The connector member according to claim 1, wherein the second terminal is formed with a beam portion that gradually separates from the first terminal side from the bent portion toward the tip portion. A housing having a recess for accommodating the second terminal;
When the concave portion is connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal is inserted and the second terminal is in a state along the first terminal.
The said pressing member presses the position of the front end side rather than the said bending part of the said 2nd terminal by being inserted between the internal peripheral surface of the said recessed part, and the said 2nd terminal. The connector member according to 1.   The connector member according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is inserted in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the second terminal with respect to the concave portion of the housing.   The connector member according to claim 5, wherein the pressing member has a shape in which a tip end portion thereof becomes gradually thinner as going to the tip end. The second terminal has a first beam having the bent portion and the tip portion, and a second beam provided in parallel with the first beam,
In the recess, the second terminal is positioned between the first beam and the second beam, and the bending portion of the first beam is in a state where the tip portion is pressed by the pressing member. The connector member according to claim 1, wherein the first terminal is sandwiched between the second beam. The first terminal protrudes from a drive circuit unit for driving a motor by converting a DC voltage supplied from a DC power source into an AC voltage;
The connector member according to claim 1, wherein the second terminal is provided on a control board for controlling the operation of the drive circuit unit.

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