JP2011086461A - Shield connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shield connector in which mutual connectors are insertedly engaged by a tightening operation of a bolt and grounding of the mutual grounding surfaces constituting shielding body can be verified simply and without fail. <P>SOLUTION: The shield connector is provided with an equipment-side connector 52, which is covered with an equipment-side shielding case 51 of the equipment and installed on the equipment-side shielding case 51; an electric wire side connector 22 which is installed on a shield electric wire 10 and engaged with the equipment side connector 52; an electric wire side shield housing 21 to cover the electric wire side connector 22; an equipment-side grounding surface 51B formed on the equipment-side shielding case 51; an electric wire side grounding surface 21B formed on the electric wire side shield housing 21; an engaging nut 64 provided in the equipment-side shielding case 51; and an engaging bolt 39 provided on the electric wire side shield housing 21. An elastic engaging member 70, having a locking claw 72 and a receiving face 38A are installed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a shielded wire to a device.

For example, in a vehicle such as an automobile, particularly an electric automobile, a connector described in Patent Document 1 is known as a connector for connecting a shielded electric wire in consideration of electromagnetic shielding properties to a device such as a motor or an inverter device.
This type of connector consists of a device-side connector attached to the connector mounting part of the metal shield case of the device, a wire-side connector that is attached to the end of the shielded wire and fits with the device-side connector, and a metal that covers the wire-side connector. And an electric wire side shield housing. And after fitting both the connectors, the metal shield case of the device and the electric wire side shield housing are electrically connected by tightening the shielding bolts so as to shield the connector portion in the completed state. It is composed.

JP 2005-11646 A

  However, since the electrical connection between the metal shield case of the equipment and the shield housing on the electric wire side is made in an opaque metal shield housing, it is difficult to visually check the connection and the bolts are not tightened sufficiently. It may become. As a result, there is a problem that the shielding effect cannot be obtained sufficiently because the connection is insufficient, such as a gap is formed in the connection portion between the metal shield case of the device and the shield housing on the electric wire side.

  Therefore, for example, by measuring the fastening torque applied to the shielding bolt when the metal shield case of the device and the electric wire side shield housing are electrically connected in advance, tightening the shielding bolt During the work, a method of determining the connection condition by confirming whether the value of the fastening torque of the bolt has reached a predetermined value may be considered, but there is a problem that workability is extremely poor.

  The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above circumstances, and the electrical connection between the metal shield case of the device and the electric wire side shield housing is achieved while the respective connectors reach the mating completed state by the bolt tightening operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a shielded connector that can easily and reliably confirm a secure connection.

  As means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention includes a device-side connector covered with a metal device-side shield case of the device and attached to a connector attachment portion of the device-side shield case, and attached to the end of the shielded wire. A wire-side connector that fits into the device-side connector, a metal wire-side shield housing that covers the wire-side connector, and the device-side shield case that surrounds the device-side connector in a loop shape. A device-side grounding surface that intersects the fitting direction of the device-side, and the wire-side shield housing is formed by enclosing the wire-side connector in a loop shape. Wire-side grounding surface, a fitting nut provided in the device-side shield case, and the wire-side shield housing And a fitting bolt for fitting the wire-side connector to the device-side connector by screwing to the fitting nut portion, and the device-side shield case includes the An elastic engagement piece extending toward the wire side connector and having a lock claw at the tip is provided, and the lock claw comes into contact with the wire side shield housing during the fitting process of the two connectors. A receiving portion that elastically deforms the joint piece and the elastic engagement piece elastically recovers and collides by releasing the contact with the lock claw when the two connectors reach the fitting completion position. It is characterized by being formed.

  In the shield connector having such a configuration, when the fitting bolt is screwed into the fitting nut portion and the two connectors reach the fitting completion position, the elastic engagement piece is elastically restored and the elastic engagement piece becomes the receiving portion. A rocking sound is emitted when a collision occurs. As a result, both the connectors reach the mating completion position by confirming the lock sound without directly confirming the grounding state of the grounding surface part in the opaque shield housing, and the grounding surface parts are electrically connected to each other. It can be determined that the conductive shield is formed in the region covered with the device side shield case and the wire side shield housing.

The following configuration is desirable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The elastic engagement piece is made of synthetic resin, and is fixed to the device-side shield case by press-fitting an attachment base formed integrally with the elastic engagement piece into an attachment groove formed on the outer surface of the device-side shield case. It is desirable that
With this configuration, the elastic engagement piece having the lock claw can be easily shielded by pressing the elastic engagement piece made of synthetic resin into the mounting groove of the apparatus side shield case before fitting both the connectors. Can be configured in a case. Therefore, the elastic engagement piece can be fixed to the device-side shield case immediately before the two connectors are fitted, or the elastic engagement piece can be fixed to the plurality of device-side shield cases in advance.

  It is desirable that the elastic engagement piece is integrally provided with a protective wall that covers the side surface opposite to the device-side shield case with a gap in a state of being fixed to the device-side shield case.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent damage to the lock claw that occurs when the device-side shield case to which the lock parts are attached in advance is conveyed.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a shielded connector capable of easily and reliably confirming the electrical connection between a metal shield case and a wire side shield housing of a device while the connectors are brought into a fitted state by a bolt tightening operation. can do.

Side view showing the state before mating between the wire side shield connector and the device side shield connector The perspective view which showed the state before the fitting of the electric wire side shield connector and the apparatus side shield connector The top view which showed the state before fitting with the electric wire side shield connector and the equipment side shield connector AA sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. CC sectional view of FIG. Front view of wire side shield connector Front view of device side shield connector Sectional drawing equivalent to the state after fitting of the electric wire side shield connector and the equipment side shield connector of FIG. Sectional drawing equivalent to the state after fitting of the electric wire side shield connector and the apparatus side shield connector of FIG. Sectional drawing equivalent to the state after a fitting of the electric wire side shield connector of FIG. 6 and the apparatus side shield connector Enlarged view showing the state before the elastic engagement piece is attached to the protrusion

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, the wire side shield connector 20 attached to the end of the shielded wire 10 and the device side shield connector fitted to the wire side shield connector 20 by being inserted into the wire side shield connector 20 attached to the device. The shield connector comprised from 50 is illustrated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the wire-side shield connector 20 is an elliptical metal that penetrates the wire-side connector 22 attached to the ends of the two shielded wires 10 in the front-rear direction and opens at both front and rear ends. The electric wire side shield housing 21 made of is assembled.
The electric wire side connector 22 has a shape in which a flat electric wire side box portion 24 is sandwiched between two electric wire side cylindrical portions 23. The electric wire side cylindrical portion 23 is assembled with an electric wire side terminal fitting 35 in which the shielded electric wire 10 is pressure-bonded to a cavity 25 formed therein.
The electric wire side terminal fitting 35 has a cylindrical tip, a connection portion 35A is provided on the inner surface of the central portion, and an engagement portion 35B is provided behind the connection portion 35A.

A lance 34 is formed in the cavity 25 of the electric wire side cylindrical portion 23 of the electric wire side connector 22, and this is engaged with an engaging portion 35B formed on the electric wire side terminal fitting 35 to which the shielded electric wire 10 is crimped. The wire side terminal fitting 35 is prevented from coming off from the cavity 25 of the wire side cylindrical portion 23.
The electric wire side connector 22 is formed with an electric wire side flange portion 26 at the center in the front-rear direction, and an elastically deformable engaging claw 27 is formed on the rear end surface in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire side box portion 24.

  The wire-side shield housing 21 is slightly narrowed at three locations on the outer surface thereof in a substantially uniform manner from the front opening edge to the rear. The inner surface of the electric wire side shield housing 21 is slightly narrowed in a stepped manner from the front opening edge toward the rear direction at the position of the entire quarter length and the position of the entire central portion. A stepped surface 21A toward the fitting side is formed in the center stepped portion formed on the inner surface of the electric wire side shield housing 21, and a stepped portion located in front of the stepped surface 21A is directed toward the fitting side. An electric wire side ground surface 21B is formed.

  The wire-side connector 22 is inserted into the wire-side shield housing 21 from the front opening edge, penetrates the wire-side shield housing 21, and is fixed when the wire-side flange portion 26 and the stepped surface 21A of the wire-side shield housing 21 abut. Yes. The engaging claw 27 of the electric wire side connector 22 is elastically deformed toward the electric wire side box portion 24 side by being pressed against the inner surface of the electric wire side shield housing 21 in the process in which the electric wire side connector 22 penetrates the electric wire side shield housing 21, and the electric wire side At a position penetrating the shield housing 21 (position where the electric wire side flange portion 26 and the stepped surface 21A abut), the elastic deformation of the engaging claw 27 is released and the electric wire side shield housing 21 is engaged with the rear end surface, The wire side shield housing 21 is assembled to the side connector 22.

An elliptical wire-side rubber ring 28 that loops the outer surface is attached to the front side of the wire-side flange portion 26 of the wire-side connector 22, and the rear wire side that extends rearward from the wire-side flange portion 26 is further forward. The front electric wire side cylindrical portion 23A formed slightly narrower than the cylindrical portion 23B is formed by extending two in the front direction.
Two slits 22A are formed between the two front electric wire side cylindrical portions 23A so as to extend from the front opening edge of the electric wire side connector 22 toward the electric wire side flange portion 26, and are formed slightly narrower therebetween. A front electric wire side box 24A is provided.

  The front end surface of the front electric wire side cylindrical portion 23A is opened so that the mating terminal fitting can be inserted, and the front electric wire side box portion 24A is formed with a detection terminal accommodating portion 29 opened at the center of the front end surface. . The detection terminal accommodating portion 29 is provided with a plate-like fitting detection terminal fitting 30 having two needle-like protrusions 30A, which is one end of a pair of lock detection connectors.

  When the terminal fittings mounted in the two connectors are connected to each other to reach a connected state, the fitting detection terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the corresponding other lock detection connector, and the fitting detection terminal fitting is inserted. The 30 needle-like protrusions 30A are short-circuited to form a conductive state. By monitoring these energized states, it is possible to confirm the connection state between the terminal fittings of both connectors even in a shielded connector that is not visible.

  The rear end of the rear electric wire side cylindrical portion 23B extending rearward from the electric wire side flange portion 26 of the electric wire side connector 22 is in a state of penetrating the electric wire side shield housing 21, and the terminal portion includes a longitudinal direction of the electric wire side connector 22. Retainer stops 22B are formed at four locations on the same surface. The retainer stopper 22 </ b> B is engaged with four engagement frames 32 provided on the back retainer 31 attached from the rear end face of the electric wire side connector 22 to prevent the back retainer 31 from coming off.

The back retainer 31 sandwiches the two shielded wires 10 to fix the distance between the shielded wires 10, and a pair of plate-like protrusions 33 formed on the back retainer 31 and extending in the forward direction are connected to the wire side box portion of the wire side connector 22. 24 and the engagement claw 27 of the electric wire side box portion 24 are inserted to prevent elastic deformation of the engagement claw 27 and prevent the electric wire side shield housing 21 from coming off from the electric wire side connector 22.
A ring-shaped rubber plug 36 is attached to the shielded electric wire 10 at the position of the front end surface of the back retainer 31, and is waterproofed against water from the rear of the electric wire side connector 22.

On the other hand, the device-side shield connector 50 is configured by assembling a device-side connector 52 to a metal device-side shield case 51 attached to the device, as shown in FIGS. The device-side shield case 51 is formed with a fixing flange 51A for attaching the device-side shield connector 50 to an attachment portion (not shown) of the device.
On the outer surface of the device-side shield case 51, there is a stepped device-side ground surface 51B that corresponds to the wire-side ground surface 21B of the wire-side shield housing 21 and loops the outer surface of the device-side shield case 51 at the center position in the front-rear direction. The rear part is formed in a slightly widened shape from this position. Then, an elliptical device-side rubber ring 53 that loops on the outer surface is mounted at a position slightly behind the front opening edge of the device-side shield case 51.
When the wire side connector 22 and the device side connector 52 reach the fitting completion position, the device side ground surface 51B comes into contact with the wire side ground surface 21B and is electrically connected to the wire side ground surface 21B. A conductive shield covering a region where the device side connector 52 and the wire side connector 22 are fitted is formed.

The device-side shield case 51 is formed with a connector mounting portion 54 that is recessed in an elliptical shape slightly forward from the rear opening edge, and the connector mounting portion 54 has an engaging projection 54A formed at the center of the longitudinal portion.
A device-side connector 52 is attached to the connector mounting portion 54. The device-side connector 52 has a shape in which a flat device-side box portion 56 is sandwiched between two device-side cylindrical portions 55. A device-side flange portion 57 is formed at the center in the front-rear direction of the device-side connector 52, and the device-side flange portion 57 has a press-fit hole 57A corresponding to the engagement protrusion 54A of the connector mounting portion 54 at the center portion in the longitudinal direction. Is formed.

  The connector mounting portion 54 of the device side shield case 51 has an elliptical rubber packing 60 from the rear for preventing water from entering between the device and the device side shield connector when the device side shield connector 50 is attached to the device. The device side connector 52 sandwiched by the inserted device side connector 52 and inserted into the connector mounting portion 54 presses the engagement protrusion 54A of the connector mounting portion 54 into the press-fitting hole 57A of the device side connector 52, thereby the device side. The shield case 51 is assembled.

  The device-side connector 52 is short-circuited at one end of a lock detection connector corresponding to the fitting detection terminal fitting 30 of the wire-side connector 22 at the rear opening edge of the rear device-side box portion 56B extending rearward from the device-side flange portion 57. The terminal 61 is inserted, and the terminal retainer 62 is assembled from behind to prevent the short terminal 61 from coming off. The front end face of the short terminal 61 is formed so that the fitting detection terminal fitting 30 can be inserted.

A rib plate 58 corresponding to the slit 22A of the wire-side connector 22 is connected from the device-side connector 52 to the wire-side connector 22 between the front device-side cylindrical portion 55A extending forward from the device-side flange portion 57 and the front device-side box portion 56A. It is formed in a state extending straight toward the.
The rib plate 58 is inserted into the slit 22A of the wire-side connector 22 when the wire-side connector 22 and the device-side connector 52 are fitted, and guides both connectors to a predetermined position.

A conical device-side terminal fitting 59 is molded in the rear device-side cylindrical portion 55 </ b> B extending rearward from the device-side flange portion 57. The device-side terminal fitting 59 includes a protruding terminal 59A protruding from the tip of a cone and a connection head 59B in which the tip of the protruding terminal 59A is molded with a synthetic resin.
The device-side terminal fitting 59 enters from the front end of the front wire-side cylindrical portion 23A of the wire-side connector 22 when the wire-side connector 22 and the device-side connector 52 are fitted. At this time, the front electric wire side cylindrical portion 23 </ b> A of the electric wire side connector 22 and the front electric wire side box portion 24 </ b> A of the electric wire side connector 22 from the fitting direction are respectively inside the device side cylindrical portion 55 and the apparatus side box portion 56. It is configured to be inserted.
The equipment-side terminal fitting 59 that has entered from the front end of the front wire-side cylindrical portion 23 </ b> A has its connection head 59 </ b> B engaged with the connection portion 35 </ b> A of the wire-side terminal fitting 35 attached in the cavity 25 of the wire-side cylindrical portion 23. Thus, the protruding terminal 59A of the device-side terminal fitting 59 and the inner surface of the wire-side terminal fitting 35 are connected, and the wire-side connector 22 and the device-side connector 52 are in a completed state.

Now, the wire-side shield housing 21 is provided with a surrounding portion 37 having a U-shape projecting from the outer surface of the wire-side shield housing 21 in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction at one end in the longitudinal direction. The surrounding portion 37 extends to the center position in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire side shield housing 21 by about 1/3 of the longitudinal direction, and is formed at a position closest to the opening edge of the electric wire side shield housing 21 from the opening edge of the electric wire side shield housing 21. The outer surface step portion 21 </ b> C is formed at the peripheral edge opened to a slightly forward position.
The rear wall 38 constituting the enclosure 37 has a rear end surface integrally formed with the outer surface stepped portion 21 </ b> C, and the rear wall 38 corresponds to a receiving portion that is orthogonal to the rear end surface and protrudes from the outer surface of the electric wire side shield housing 21. A surface 38A is formed.
A fitting bolt 39 is attached from the rear end surface of the rear wall 38 of the surrounding portion 37 in a state of penetrating the rear wall 38, and the fitting bolt 39 is received in a receiving groove 40 formed on the fitting side surface of the rear wall 38. The E-ring 41 prevents it from coming off.

On the other hand, the device-side shield connector 50 is formed with a protrusion 63 at a position corresponding to the surrounding portion 37 of the wire-side shield connector 20.
The protrusion 63 is formed to extend straight from the rear end surface of the device-side shield case 51 to the device-side ground surface 51B, and the fitting-side surface thereof is formed integrally with the device-side ground surface 51B of the device-side shield case 51. ing. A fitting nut portion 64 for fitting the two connectors by screwing the fitting bolt 39 into a position corresponding to the fitting bolt 39 of the electric wire side shield connector 20 is formed on the fitting-side surface of the protrusion 63. ing.

A mounting groove 65 is formed on the projecting surface 63A of the projecting portion 63 so as to extend from the rear end surface of the device-side shield case 51 to a position slightly rearward of the front end surface of the device-side shield case 51 and open at one end in an elliptical longitudinal direction. The bottom wall is formed in a fine wave shape. An elastically deformable plate-shaped synthetic resin-made elastic resin piece 70 having a mounting base portion 71 corresponding to the side surface and a lock claw 72 at the tip end thereof is press-fitted into the mounting groove 65 from the rear side of the mounting groove 65. It is attached by.
The attachment base 71 is configured to extend from the rear end surface of the elastic engagement piece 70 to a length of about half of the whole. The lock claw 72 enters the surrounding portion 37 from the opening edge of the electric wire side shield connector 20 in the process of fitting both the connectors, and then comes into contact with the receiving surface 38A of the surrounding portion 37 so as to ride on the receiving surface 38A and be elastic. The engagement piece 70 is slightly elastically deformed to the side opposite to the device-side shield case 51, and is set to a position where the contact state with the receiving surface 38A is released when both connectors reach the fitting completion position.

  The elastic engagement piece 70 is positioned behind the lock claw 72, and when the contact state between the lock claw 72 and the receiving surface 38A is released, the elastic engagement piece 70 is elastically restored to hit the receiving surface 38A. A surface 70A is formed, and when the hitting surface 70A collides with the receiving surface 38A, a collision sound is generated.

  The elastic engagement piece 70 has a protective wall 73 that extends from the lock claw 72 at the tip of the elastic engagement piece 70 to the mounting base 71 and is located on the opposite side of the device-side shield case 51 and is spaced from the lock claw 72. Further, it is possible to prevent damage to the lock pawl 72 and the striking surface 70A of the elastic engagement piece attached to the device-side shield case 51 in the middle of conveyance.

Next, the fitting operation of the shield connector of this embodiment will be described.
When the wire-side shield connector 20 is fitted to the device-side shield connector 50, first, the device-side shield connector 50 is attached to the wire-side shield connector 20 according to the guidance of the slit 22A of the wire-side connector 22 and the rib plate 58 of the device-side connector 52. Insert it.
When both shielded connectors are fitted together in the fitting direction, the front wire side cylindrical portion 23A and the front wire side box portion 24A of the wire side connector 22 correspond to the front device side cylindrical portion 55A of the device side connector and the front side. At the same time as being inserted into the device side box portion 56 </ b> A, the tip of the fitting bolt 39 of the wire side shield housing 21 starts to enter the fitting nut portion 64 of the device side shield case 51. When this state is reached, the fitting bolt 39 is screwed into the fitting nut portion 64 to fit both connectors.

  In the process of fitting both the connectors, the lock claw 72 of the elastic engagement piece 70 that has entered the enclosure 37 from the opening edge of the wire-side shield connector 20 comes into contact with the receiving surface 38A of the enclosure 37 so as to be elastically engaged. The piece 70 is elastically deformed. When the fitting bolt 39 is continuously screwed to the fitting nut portion 64, both connectors reach the fitting completion position, the contact state between the lock claw 72 and the receiving surface 38A is released, and the elastic engagement piece 70 is elastically restored. . Thereby, when the striking surface 70A of the elastic engagement piece 70 collides with the receiving surface 38A and a collision sound is generated, both connectors are in a completed state, and the wire-side ground surface 21B and the device-side ground surface 51B Are electrically connected by being in contact with each other, and a conductive shield is formed in a region covered by the electric wire side shield housing 21 and the device side shield case 51.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, both the connectors are in the mating completed state without directly confirming the grounding state of the grounding surface portion by confirming the collision sound generated when the striking surface 70A collides with the receiving surface 38A. It is possible to easily and reliably determine that both ground planes are connected.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) In the present embodiment, the fitting bolt 39 is preliminarily assembled to the surrounding portion 37. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to the wire side shield. It is good also as a structure which attaches the volt | bolt 39 for fitting after inserting the apparatus side shield case 51 in the housing 21, and is screwed by the nut part 64 for fitting.
(2) In the present embodiment, the elastic engagement piece 70 is provided in the device-side shield case 51 and the receiving surface 38A is provided in the electric wire-side shield housing 21. However, the present invention is limited to such an aspect. Instead, the present invention may have a configuration in which, for example, the elastic engagement piece 70 is provided in the wire-side shield housing 21 and the receiving surface 38A is provided in the device-side shield case 51.

(3) In this embodiment, the lock detection connector is mounted. However, the present invention is not limited to such a mode, and the present invention is also applicable to a connector that does not have a lock detection connector. Can do.
(4) In the present embodiment, the connector has a waterproof function using a packing, a rubber plug, a rubber ring, etc., but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the present invention is not waterproof. It can also be applied to connectors.

10 ... Shielded wire 21 ... Wire side shield housing 21B ... Wire side grounding surface 22 ... Wire side connector 38A ... Receiving surface 39 ... Fitting bolt 51 ... Device side shield case 51B ... Equipment-side ground plane 52 ... Equipment-side connector 54 ... Connector mounting part 64 ... Fitting nut part 65 ... Mounting groove 70 ... Elastic engagement piece 71 ... Mounting base part 72 ... Lock claw 73 ... Protection wall

Claims (3)

A device-side connector covered with a device-side shield case made of metal of the device and attached to a connector mounting portion of the device-side shield case; a wire-side connector that is attached to a terminal of a shielded electric wire and fits with the device-side connector; A metal wire-side shield housing covering the wire-side connector, a device-side ground plane that is formed by surrounding the device-side connector in a loop shape in the device-side shield case and intersects the fitting direction of the two connectors, An electric wire side grounding surface formed in a wire-side shield housing so as to surround the electric wire side connector in a loop shape and electrically connected to the equipment side grounding surface when both the connectors reach a fitting completion position, and the equipment side A fitting nut provided in the shield case and a fitting nut provided in the wire side shield housing and screwed into the fitting nut. A shielded connector and a fitting bolt for fitting the electric wire side connector on the device side connector,
The device-side shield case is provided with an elastic engagement piece extending toward the wire-side connector and having a lock claw at the tip, and the wire-side shield housing is provided with the lock claw during the fitting process of the two connectors. The elastic engagement piece is elastically deformed by the contact, and the elastic engagement piece is elastically released by releasing the contact with the lock claw when the two connectors reach the fitting completion position. A shield connector characterized in that a receiving portion for returning and colliding is formed.   The elastic engagement piece is made of synthetic resin, and is fixed to the device-side shield case by press-fitting an attachment base formed integrally with the elastic engagement piece into an attachment groove formed on the outer surface of the device-side shield case. The shield connector according to claim 1, wherein   The shield connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elastic engagement piece is integrally provided with a protective wall that covers a side surface opposite to the device-side shield case with a gap.

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