JP2012028070A - Relay connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relay connector for cable connection that stably holds a male terminal while maintaining compact constitution.SOLUTION: The relay connector 1 is configured such that a female-side housing 3 has a cylindrical insertion projection 41a which protrudes in a direction coupling with a male-side housing 2 and has a female terminal T2 inserted in the projection, and the male-side housing has a terminal support hole 61 into which a base end T1a of the male terminal T1 is inserted and a coupling hole 62 which connects with the terminal support hole, has a tip T1b of the male terminal loosely inserted, and has the insertion projection of the female-side housing inserted in the hole. The male-side housing further has a plurality of terminal support pieces 68 which project from an edge of the terminal support hole into the coupling hole and abut on an outer periphery of the tip of the male terminal, tip sides of the terminal support pieces being inserted into the insertion projection of the female-side housing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay connector used for connecting cables such as electric wires.

  Conventionally, as a relay connector used for connection of wiring or the like of a solar cell module, for example, provided at an end of one cable, provided at a plug housing for accommodating a male terminal, and at an end of the other cable, A receptacle housing that accommodates a female terminal that is electrically connected to the male terminal, and the two housings are engaged with each other with an engaging portion and an engaged portion provided to each other, There is known a housing in which a female terminal and a male terminal are housed in a watertight manner (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-11-135190 JP 2003-115353 A

  By the way, in the conventional relay connector, the base end portion of the male terminal (connection portion with the cable core wire) is fixed in a state of being inserted into the mounting hole of the plug housing, while the distal end portion of the male terminal (female) The connection portion with the terminal is configured to protrude into the coupling hole into which the insertion protrusion of the receptacle housing is inserted.

  In such a configuration, from the viewpoint of preventing the deflection of the distal end portion of the male terminal, it is possible to stably secure the male terminal by ensuring a large axial length of the proximal end portion held in the mounting hole of the housing. desirable. However, when the axial length of the base end portion is increased, there is a problem that the axial length of the housing needs to be increased and the relay connector is increased in size.

  The present invention has been devised in view of such problems of the prior art, and provides a relay connector capable of stably holding a male terminal while maintaining a compact configuration. With the goal.

  According to the 1st side surface of this invention made | formed in order to solve the said subject, the male side housing (2) which accommodates a male terminal (T1), and the female terminal (T2) electrically connected with the said male terminal ), And a female connector (1) provided so as to be connectable to the male housing, wherein the female connector is connected to the male housing. And a cylindrical insertion protrusion (41a) into which the female terminal is inserted, and a proximal end portion (T1a) of the male terminal is fitted in the male side housing. A terminal support hole (61) to be inserted, and a coupling in which the distal end portion (T1b) of the male terminal is loosely inserted and connected to the terminal support hole, and the insertion protrusion is inserted when coupled to the female housing. Hole (62) The male housing has a plurality of terminal support pieces (68) that protrude from the edge of the terminal support hole into the coupling hole and abut against the outer periphery of the tip of the male terminal. The terminal support piece is inserted at least into the insertion protrusion when the distal end side is coupled to the female housing.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, with respect to the first aspect, the female housing projects from the inner peripheral surface at the distal end of the insertion protrusion and contacts the female terminal. It has a regulation piece (75) which regulates the movement to the male housing side, and the plurality of terminal support pieces are arranged at positions different from the regulation piece in the circumferential direction of the insertion protrusion. Features.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the plurality of terminal support pieces are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the insertion protrusion. .

  Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, with respect to any one of the first to third aspects, the male terminal is configured such that the distal end portion has a diameter smaller than the proximal end portion and the distal end portion And an annular step portion (T1c) that forms a boundary between the base end portion and the terminal support piece further abuts on the annular step portion.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of terminals that support the tip of the male terminal and are inserted into the insertion protrusion of the female housing when the male housing and the female housing are coupled. Since the support piece is provided, it is possible to stably hold the male terminal while maintaining a compact configuration that affects the axial length of the relay connector.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of terminal support pieces inserted into the insertion protrusion regulates the movement of the female terminal inserted into the insertion protrusion toward the male housing. It is not hindered by the restriction piece, and the male terminal can be stably held while maintaining a compact configuration.
Moreover, according to the said 3rd side surface of this invention, since the outer periphery of a male terminal is supported without a bias | inclination with a some terminal support piece, it becomes possible to hold | maintain a male terminal more stably.
In addition, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to hold the male terminal more stably while restricting the movement of the male terminal toward the female housing.

It is a perspective view which shows the connector for relays of the coupling state which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the connector for relays of the non-bonding state concerning an embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the male side housing which concerns on embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the female side housing which concerns on embodiment. It is a principal part cross-sectional perspective view of the male side housing of FIG. 3 before the cable is mounted (a male terminal is not inserted). It is a principal part cross-sectional perspective view after the cable attachment of the male side housing of FIG. 3 (insertion state of a male terminal). FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the front end portion of the female housing of FIG. 4 after the cable is attached (female terminal is inserted). FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a main part in which each terminal of the relay connector in the coupled state in FIG. 1 is omitted. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the attachment method of the male side housing with respect to the cable which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the connector for relays of the coupling state which concerns on embodiment. It is a principal part cross-sectional perspective view which shows the connector for relays of the coupling state which concerns on embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a relay connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In description, about the direction regarding a male side housing and a male terminal, and a female side housing and a female terminal, it shall follow the direction shown by the arrow in FIG.3 and FIG.4, respectively. In the male side housing 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, for convenience of explanation, the seal holding member 13 is in a temporary fastening position. However, in actual use, as with the female side housing 3, The holding member 13 is in a fixed position.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the relay connector 1 is a waterproof connector used for connecting the wiring of the solar cell module, and has a male housing 2 attached to the cable C1 and a female attached to the cable C2. And a side housing 3. The male housing 2 and the female housing 3 have shapes that can be coupled to each other, and due to the coupling, the male terminal T1 and the female terminal T2 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) at the ends of the cables C1 and C2. Are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the male housing 2 includes a synthetic resin housing main body 11, a cylindrical elastic seal member 12 provided for waterproofing in the housing main body 11, and the elastic seal member 12 as a housing main body 11. And a synthetic resin-made seal holding member 13 that is held in a state of being attached to one end side. Each of these members 11 to 13 has a left-right symmetric shape and a vertically symmetric shape. The cable C1 includes a central conductor 15 and an outer covering 16 including an insulator, a sheath, and the like provided around the conductor 15, and a male terminal T1 is attached to the conductor 15 exposed from the tip. .

  The housing main body 11 is formed with a cable holding hole 10 that accommodates and holds the distal end portion of the cable C1 to which the male terminal T1 is attached. Further, a locking cylinder portion 21 provided for coupling with the female housing 3 is formed on the upper and lower portions of the front side of the housing body 11. The housing body 11 has guide grooves 22 that guide the movement of the seal holding member 13 in the front-rear direction on the left and right side portions on the rear side. The guide grooves 22 include elastic seal members 12 (FIGS. A pair of upper and lower temporary retaining claws 23, 23 provided for temporary fastening (see FIG. 5) are provided in a protruding manner. A fixing claw 24 for fixing the elastic seal member 12 projects from the upper and lower outer surfaces on the rear side of the housing body 11.

  The elastic seal member 12 is made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber and has an insertion hole 31 having a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the cable C1. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, a plurality of annular convex portions 32 a to 32 d are formed on the peripheral surface of the insertion hole 31. Further, on the outer peripheral surface on the front side of the elastic seal member 12, annular convex portions 32e and 32f are formed at positions corresponding to the annular convex portions 32c and 32d, respectively.

  The seal holding member 13 has a cylindrical main body portion 13a in which an insertion hole 35 into which the rear side of the elastic seal member 12 and the cable C1 are inserted is formed. The front side of the main body 13 a is provided so as to be inserted into the cable holding hole 10 of the housing main body 11. Guide pieces 36 inserted into the guide grooves 22 of the housing main body 11 extend forward on the left and right sides of the main body portion 13a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the temporary holding of the seal holding member 13 to the housing body 11 is performed by inserting the guide piece 36 into the guide groove 22 and temporarily holding claws 37 and 37 projecting upward and downward from the guide groove 22. This is performed by being locked to the temporary retaining claws 23, 23. In addition, a locking ring 38 extends forward and downward from the top and bottom of the main body portion 13a, and the locking ring 38 is locked by the fixing claws 24 of the housing main body 11, whereby the seal holding member 13 is moved. Fixed to the housing body 11.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the female housing main body 41 is formed with a cable holding hole 40 for accommodating and holding the distal end portion of the cable C2 to which the female terminal T2 is attached. A locking piece 42 is formed on the front upper and lower portions of the housing main body 41 for use in connection with the male housing 2. The locking piece 42 is inserted into the corresponding locking cylinder portion 21 of the male housing 2 and the outward locking claw 43 at the tip thereof is locked to the opening edge on the rear side of the locking cylinder portion 21. As a result, the male housing 2 and the female housing 3 are coupled.

  In the female housing 3, the functions and configurations of the elastic seal member 12 and the seal holding member 13, and the rear portion of the housing main body 41 (the guide groove 22, the temporary retaining claws 23) engaged with the elastic seal member 12 and the seal holding member 13 , 23 and the fixing claws 24) are the same as in the case of the male housing 2 described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The cable C2 has the same configuration as the cable C1 except that the female terminal T2 is attached to the tip of the cable C2.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the male housing body 11 is formed with a terminal support hole 61 and a coupling hole 62 that are successively connected in front of the cable holding hole 10. The base end portion T1a of the male terminal T1 is fitted into the terminal support hole 61. Further, the reduced diameter tip portion T1b of the male terminal T1 is loosely inserted into the coupling hole 62 having an inner diameter larger than that of the terminal support hole 61, and at the time of coupling with the female housing 3, the insertion protrusion 41a ( 4) is inserted.

  The terminal support hole 61 is provided with a plurality of restricting blocks 65 and a plurality of locking blocks 66 arranged on one side (rear side) of these restricting blocks 65 at a predetermined interval. Each restricting block 65 and each locking block 66 project from the inner peripheral surface of the terminal support hole 61 toward the inside, and are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, the restriction block 65 and the locking block 66 are arranged so that they do not overlap each other in the circumferential direction (that is, one of the restriction block 65 and the locking block 66 is a circumference corresponding to the other gap). Is located in the direction position). Thereby, the inconvenience that undercut occurs in the terminal support hole 61 and the mold structure becomes complicated is avoided.

  The restriction block 65 includes a main body portion 67 that extends in the axial direction along the inner peripheral surface of the terminal support hole 61, and a terminal support piece 68 that extends obliquely inward from the front end of the main body portion 67. Each terminal support piece 68 protrudes from the end edge of the terminal support hole 61 into the coupling hole 62, and its inner surface 68a abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion T1b of the male terminal T1. Further, the inclined rear surface 68b of the terminal support piece 68 abuts on the outer surface of the inclined annular step portion T1c that forms the boundary between the base end portion T1a and the distal end portion T1b of the male terminal T1. The rear edges of the elastic locking pieces 71 and 71 formed at the base end portion T1a of the male terminal T1 are locked to the front surface 66a of the locking block 66. Accordingly, the male terminal T1 is stably held in the male housing 2 in a state where the forward movement is restricted and the terminal support piece 68 prevents the tip portion T1b from swinging.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a female terminal T <b> 2 is inserted into a cylindrical insertion protrusion 41 a that protrudes in the coupling direction of the female housing 3. A plurality of restricting pieces 75 project radially inward from the inner peripheral surface of the distal end of the insertion protrusion 41a. Each regulating piece 75 abuts on the tip of the female terminal T2, and regulates the movement of the female terminal T2 to the front (male side housing 2 side). Further, the restricting pieces 75 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the connector for relay 1, the terminal support piece 68 is inserted into the insertion protrusion 41a when the male housing 2 and the female housing 3 are coupled. Thereby, a compact configuration can be maintained while affecting the axial length of the relay connector 1. At this time, the plurality of terminal support pieces 68 and the restriction piece 75 on the female housing 3 side are arranged at different positions in the circumferential direction, thereby restricting insertion of the terminal support piece 68 into the insertion protrusion 41a. It is not inhibited by the strip 75. Further, the insertion protrusion 41 a inserted into the coupling hole 62 is stably held in the coupling hole 62 because the distal end thereof is inserted into the space on the outer surface side of each terminal support piece 68.

  When attaching the male housing 2 having the above configuration to the cable C1, as shown in FIG. 9A, first, the operator attaches the seal holding member 13 to the housing main body 11 to temporarily fix it. The cable C1 is inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow A with respect to the male housing 2 in the temporarily fastened state. At this time, the seal holding member 13 is in the temporary fastening position, and as shown in FIG. 2, the temporary retaining claws 37, 37 of the guide piece 36 are inserted into the guide groove 36 with the guide piece 36 inserted into the guide groove 22. 11 temporary retaining claws 23, 23. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9A, the locking ring 38 has a front edge 38 a located behind the fixed claw 24 of the housing body 11 and is not locked to the fixed claw 24. The elastic seal member 12 has a front side on which the annular protrusions 32 c to 32 f are formed accommodated in the enlarged diameter portion 10 a in the cable holding hole 10 of the housing body 11, and a part on the rear side thereof is the seal holding member 13. Is inserted into the insertion hole 35.

  At this time, the front side of the elastic seal member 12 is sandwiched between the cable C1 and the cable holding hole 10, and the annular protrusions 32c to 32f are located between the cable C1 and the cable holding hole 10. Thus, the adhesiveness of the elastic seal member 12 to the cable C1 and the housing body 11 is improved. In the elastic seal member 12, the rear portion of the insertion hole 31 in which the annular protrusions 32a and 32b are formed is gradually enlarged in diameter toward the rear, so that the cable C1 can be easily inserted.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the operator moves the seal holding member 13 at the temporary fastening position to the front fixed position along the axial direction of the cable C1. At this time, the locking ring 38 of the seal holding member 13 is elastically deformed to get over the fixing claw 24 of the housing body 11, and the front edge 38 a is locked on the front side of the fixing claw 24 of the housing body 11. At this time, the elastic seal member 12 is completely inserted into the insertion hole 35 of the seal holding member 13 at the rear side where the annular convex portions 32 a and 32 b are formed. Thereby, the rear side of the elastic seal member 12 is sandwiched between the cable C1 and the insertion hole 35, and the water tightness of the male housing 2 is ensured. Further, the annular convex portions 32a and 32b of the elastic seal member 12 are compressed between the elastic seal member 12, the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 31 and the outer peripheral surface of the cable C1. The adhesion of the elastic seal member 12 is improved. Note that the diameter of the insertion hole 35 of the seal holding member 13 into which the elastic seal member 12 is inserted is gradually reduced toward the rear, whereby the adhesion of the elastic seal member 12 to the cable C1 and the insertion hole 35 is reduced. Will increase.

  The female housing 3 can be attached to the cable C2 in the same manner as in the case of the male housing 2.

  The operator attaches the male housing 2 and the female housing 3 to the cables C1 and C2 and fixes them, and then couples them together as shown in FIG. At this time, the insertion protrusion 41 a of the female housing 3 is inserted into the coupling hole 62 of the male housing 2, and the locking pieces 42, 42 are inserted into the locking cylinders 21, 21 of the male housing 2. Thereafter, the locking claw 43 is locked to the edge. An O-ring 52 is attached to the annular groove 51 on the proximal end side of the insertion protrusion 41a, and the O-ring 52 is sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface of the cable holding hole 10 and the outer peripheral surface of the insertion protrusion 41a. Thus, the water tightness of the joint between the male housing 2 and the female housing 3 is ensured. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the tip T1b of the male terminal T1 accommodated and held in the male housing 2 is inserted into the female terminal T2 accommodated in the female housing 3, and the cables C1 and C2 (see FIG. 2). Are electrically connected to each other.

  Thus, according to the male side housing 2 (same for the female side housing 3), when attaching to the cable C1, the operator inserts the end of the cable C1 into the cable holding hole 10 of the housing body 11, It is only necessary to move the seal holding member 13 in the temporary fastening position to the fixed position, and the ease of attachment to the cable C1 can be improved with a simple configuration using the elastic seal member 12 and the seal holding member 13.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on specific embodiments, these embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the relay connector according to the present invention does not necessarily need to be configured as an independent component, and one or both of the male housing and the female housing may be configured as a cable connection portion in a housing of an electronic device or the like. Good. The number and shape of the elastic locking pieces provided on the male terminal and the female terminal can be variously changed. Furthermore, all of the constituent elements of the relay connector according to the present invention shown in the above embodiment are not necessarily essential, and can be selectively used at least as long as they do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Relay connector 2 Male side housing 3 Female side housing 11 Housing main body 12 Elastic seal member 13 Seal holding member 41 Housing main body 41a Insertion protrusion 61 Terminal support hole 62 Coupling hole 65 Restriction block 66 Locking block 67 Main body part 68 Terminal support Piece 68a Inner surface 68b Rear surface 71 Elastic locking piece 75 Restriction piece T1 Male terminal T1a Base end portion T1b Tip end portion T1c Annular step portion T2 Female terminal

Claims (4)

For cable connection, comprising a male housing housing a male terminal, a female terminal electrically connected to the male terminal, and a female housing provided to be connectable to the male housing. A relay connector,
The female housing has a cylindrical insertion protrusion that protrudes in the connecting direction with the male housing and into which the female terminal is inserted,
In the male housing, a terminal support hole into which a proximal end portion of the male terminal is inserted, and a distal end portion of the male terminal connected to the terminal support hole are loosely inserted, and at the time of coupling with the female housing. And a coupling hole into which the insertion protrusion is inserted,
The male-side housing has a plurality of terminal support pieces that protrude from the edge of the terminal support hole into the coupling hole and abut on the outer periphery of the distal end portion of the male terminal. The relay connector according to claim 1, wherein at least a tip side of the piece is inserted into the insertion protrusion when the piece is coupled to the female housing. The female-side housing has a restricting piece that protrudes from an inner peripheral surface at the tip of the insertion protrusion, and that restricts movement to the male-side housing by contacting the female terminal,
The relay connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of terminal support pieces are arranged at positions different from the restriction pieces in a circumferential direction of the insertion protrusion.   The relay connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of terminal support pieces are arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction of the insertion protrusion. The male terminal has an annular step portion that forms a boundary between the distal end portion and the proximal end portion, and the distal end portion has a diameter smaller than that of the proximal end portion.
The relay connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal support piece further contacts the annular step portion.

Images