JP2013187170A - Contact spring for connector terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact spring for a connector terminal that stably provides a large area of contact between connector terminals so as to handle high current.SOLUTION: A contact spring 11 for a connector terminal has a plurality of spring pieces 13 that are arranged at intervals parallel to one another, that are held in a terminal main body 25 so as to form a cylindrical shape, and that come into contact elastically with a circumferential surface of a pin 24 as inserted. The contact spring 11 also has a connecting spring 16 that urges the spring pieces 13 elastically in a diameter reducing direction. The connecting spring 16 is integral with the spring pieces 13, and connects the spring pieces 13. The connecting spring 16 increases contact pressure, and hence contact area, between the spring pieces 13 and the pin 24, and also disperses the stress on the spring pieces 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector used for electrical connection, and more specifically, it can handle large currents such as power supply to vehicles such as automobiles and railways, and vehicle parts such as batteries, inverters, and motors. Related to various connectors.

  When a large current is passed through the connector, power loss occurs due to contact resistance. In order to suppress this electric power loss, the device which makes contact resistance low is made | formed. To reduce the contact resistance, it is effective to increase the contact area.

  For this reason, for connectors using male terminals as pins and female terminals as sockets, for example, connector terminal contact springs disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed.

  The connector terminal contact spring disclosed in Patent Document 1 is held in a cylindrical terminal body of a female terminal that receives insertion of a pin, and is substantially long in the insertion direction of the pin using a material having elasticity and conductivity. It is formed in a cylindrical shape. Specifically, annular support portions are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder, and the space between these support portions is narrowed so that the intermediate portion is thinner, and has a drum-like shape as a whole. The entire periphery of the portion excluding the support portions at both ends has a plurality of slits extending along the longitudinal direction, and between these slits is a spring piece. The spring piece has a structure in which the middle part in the longitudinal direction is curved toward the inner diameter side, and a plurality of spring pieces are arranged in parallel along the circumferential direction.

  With such a configuration, when the pin is inserted, the plurality of spring pieces of the connector terminal contact spring are elastically displaced in the diameter-expanding direction and contact the pin by elastic force. This contact is made by a plurality of spring pieces, and contact is made with pressure (spring pressure) at the time of contact, so that the contact area can be increased.

  The connector terminal contact spring of Patent Document 2 has a structure in which support portions at both ends are twisted in opposite directions in the circumferential direction in order to form a constriction like a drum. The material is punched into a bowl shape, then rolled into a cylinder, twisted at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the state is fixed in a cylindrical sleeve.

  In this configuration, a plurality of spring pieces extend in a spiral shape, so that more contacts can be obtained when the pins are inserted, and the contact area can be increased.

  However, in the connector terminal contact spring having the structure as in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to obtain a stable contact area unless the spring pressure of the spring piece is increased to ensure the contact pressure. In addition, since the plurality of spring pieces are independent of each other, the spring property is likely to deteriorate due to plastic deformation or the like when a large deformation occurs due to a twist or the like when the pin is inserted or removed.

  In the contact spring for connector terminals as in Patent Document 2, the amount of constriction varies greatly with a slight difference in the amount of twist. It is necessary to fix the torsion angle at the time of manufacturing, but since the force in the direction in which the torsion is returned acts at this time, adjustment of the amount of torsion is not easy, and in addition, fixing must be performed at the same time. High technology and dedicated equipment are required. In addition, the amount of torsion may be reduced during fixing because of forced twisting.

  This is a problem that cannot be neglected from the standpoint of product stability for the connector terminal contact spring having a structure in which the amount of constriction changes greatly due to a slight difference in the amount of twist as described above. In particular, since the contact pressure with respect to the pin greatly changes due to a slight difference in the amount of binding, it is difficult to obtain a constant contact state.

  In addition, since the constriction is generated by twisting, a load in the direction of returning the twist is always generated in the whole of the spring piece, and when the pin is inserted, the spring piece has the load. However, it is deformed so as to extend in the insertion direction of the pin, causing distorted displacement, and it is difficult to obtain a stable contact surface and contact pressure due to the difficulty of obtaining the above-mentioned constant contact state. There is a difficulty.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-214059 Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-81274

  Thus, the main object of the present invention is to stably obtain a large contact area.

  The means for this is for connector terminals in which a plurality of spring pieces that contact the peripheral surface of the inserted pin with elastic force are arranged in parallel with a gap therebetween and are held in a cylindrical shape within the terminal body. The contact spring is a contact spring for a connector terminal provided with reduced diameter biasing means for biasing the spring piece in the reduced diameter direction with an elastic force.

  In this configuration, the reduced diameter urging means urges the plurality of spring pieces with an elastic force in a direction in which the spring pieces come into contact with the peripheral surface of the pin. The spring piece is regulated by this urging, and when the pin is inserted and the spring piece is elastically displaced, a part of the stress applied to the base part of the spring piece is borne, and the stress is dispersed as a whole.

  The diameter-reducing urging means may be integrated by extending from a part of the spring piece, or may be integrated by using a member different from the spring piece. You may comprise with another member.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the reduced diameter biasing means may be constituted by a connecting spring that bridges between the spring pieces. Since the connecting spring also acts to hold a gap between the spring pieces, the deformation stability of the spring pieces can be improved.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the spring piece may be formed in a shape extending in the insertion direction of the pin. Since the longitudinal direction of the spring piece coincides with the insertion direction of the pin, even if the pin is inserted, the spring piece is only elastically displaced in the longitudinal direction and the radial direction, thereby preventing an undue displacement.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the spring piece may be divided into a plurality of pieces in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the spring piece. The division may be performed with a gap between them, and in any case, the spring piece becomes easy to conform to the peripheral surface of the pin, and the contact area increases.

  As one aspect of the present invention, a cross-sectional shape of the connecting spring is preferably an arc shape. It is possible to obtain a supple spring property and to take a wider elastic deformation range so as to cope with an excessive displacement of the spring piece.

  Another means is a connector terminal provided with the connector terminal contact spring.

  According to this invention, a large contact area can be stably obtained, and a connector terminal and a connector that can cope with a large current can be obtained.

The perspective view of a contact spring. The partial cross section side view of a connector terminal. The longitudinal cross-sectional view in the intermediate part of the longitudinal direction of a contact spring. The side view of a contact spring. The side view of a contact spring. The perspective view of a contact spring. The top view which shows the one part punching raw material of the manufacturing process of a contact spring. The partially broken side view of an action state. Sectional drawing of the state which inserted the pin. The perspective view of a contact spring. Sectional drawing of the state which inserted the pin in the contact spring of FIG.

An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present invention, for the purpose of stably obtaining a large contact area in the contact between the connector terminals, a plurality of spring pieces that are in contact with the peripheral surface of the inserted pin with elasticity are parallel with a gap. In the connector terminal contact spring that is disposed in the terminal body and is held so as to form a cylindrical shape, a contraction biasing means that biases the spring piece with an elastic force in the contraction direction is provided. It was realized.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector terminal contact spring 11 (hereinafter referred to as “contact spring”), which is formed using a material having elasticity and conductivity, and is illustrated in FIG. The female terminal 22 as the connector terminal of the connector 21 is provided. Specifically, the contact spring 11 is held on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 26 of the terminal body 25 into which the pin 24 of the male terminal 23 is inserted, and has an elastic force on the outer peripheral surface of the pin 24 with the pin 24 inserted. They are in contact with each other and electrically connect the pin 24 and the terminal body 25.

  When the contact spring 11 is housed in the insertion hole 26, the contact spring 11 is stretched in the diameter expanding direction by the holding step 26 a on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 26 and is held in a cylindrical shape. This is because the pin 24 in the illustrated example is cylindrical. The contact spring 11 illustrated in FIG. 1 is in a state of being held in the insertion hole 26, that is, in a state of being rounded into a cylindrical shape. It may be what was done.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the contact spring 11 has annular support portions 12 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of spring pieces extending between the support portions 12 in parallel along the longitudinal direction. 13 is connected. That is, the spring piece 13 is provided so as to extend in the insertion direction of the pin 24. All the spring pieces 13 arranged over the entire circumference are formed in a shape that is curved so that the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction is bent toward the inner diameter side.

  The number of the spring pieces 13 is appropriately set according to conditions such as the diameter of the contact spring 11. The spring pieces 13 are arranged with a gap 14 between them, and the gaps 14 exist between the spring pieces 13 over the entire length of the spring pieces 13. A diameter reducing means 15 for urging the piece 13 with an elastic force in the diameter reducing direction is provided.

  The diameter-reducing urging means 15 of this example is made of the same material as the spring piece 13, and is constituted by a connecting spring 16 that is integral with the spring piece 13 and bridges between the spring pieces 13. The connecting spring 16 is provided in the middle portion of the spring piece 13 in the longitudinal direction. The length of the connecting spring 16 in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 13 is appropriately set.

  FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the contact spring 11 is cut at a portion having the connection spring 16. As shown in this figure, the connection spring 16 has a circular arc shape that protrudes radially outward. It is formed in a semicircular arc shape. The shape and height of the coupling spring 16 are appropriately set according to the width of the gap 14 between the spring pieces 13 and the desired contact pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the connection spring 16 may be provided with arc-shaped portions 17 on both sides (both sides in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece) to reduce stress concentration. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4B, an arcuate portion 18 may be provided at the base portion of the spring piece.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting springs 16 can be provided at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction of the spring pieces 13. When provided at a plurality of locations, it is desirable that the spring pieces 13 are equally disposed in the longitudinal direction.

  The cross-sectional shape of the connecting spring 16 can be formed in other shapes such as a triangular cross-section having corners as shown in FIG. 6 and an M-shaped cross-section.

  Such a contact spring 11 is manufactured from a plate material. As shown in the material 31 shown in FIG. 7, the plate member is formed by strip portions 32 on both sides that become the support portion 12, an intermediate strip portion 33 that becomes the coupling spring 16 at an intermediate position therebetween, and these three strip shapes. The contact spring 11 can be obtained by stamping into a shape having a plurality of bridging portions 34 that connect the portions 32 and 33 to form the spring pieces 13 and bending the necessary portions such as the bridging portions 34. It is done. The punching and forming can be performed by pressing. In addition to pressing, drawing or forging may be used.

  The contact spring 11 having the above configuration is held in the insertion hole 26 of the terminal body 25 as described above (see FIG. 1), and constitutes a female terminal 22 as a connector terminal. The female terminal 22 is paired with a male terminal 23 as a connector terminal to constitute a connector 21.

  The contact spring 11 has a flat shape, a curved shape in a circular arc shape, or a rounded shape in a cylindrical shape before being held with respect to the terminal body 25.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the female terminal 22 and the male terminal 23 are connected by inserting the male terminal 23 into the insertion hole 26 of the female terminal 22 by relative movement. When the cylindrical pin 24 of the male terminal 23 is inserted, the support portion 12 of the contact spring 11 allows the insertion of the pin 24 as it is. The inserted pin 24 hits the spring piece 13 disposed on the entire circumference and enters the spring piece 13 while expanding the spring piece 13 against the spring pressure in the diameter increasing direction. At this time, the spring piece 13 is elastically displaced in the longitudinal direction and the radial direction, and the connecting spring 16 is elastically displaced in a direction in which the curve is widened, thereby allowing the pin 24 to enter. By inserting the pin 24, the spring piece 13 and the connecting spring 16 are pushed and spread on the pin 24, and come into contact with the pin 24 with pressure by an elastic force.

  FIG. 9 shows a cross section in a state where the spring piece 13 of the contact spring 11 is expanded by the pin 24. As shown in this figure, when the spring pieces 13 are displaced in the diameter increasing direction, the connecting springs 16 that connect the spring pieces 13 are integrated in the circumferential direction so that all the spring pieces 13 are elastic in the diameter reducing direction. Energize with power.

  For this reason, all the spring pieces 13 are pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the pin 24 and come into contact with a contact pressure stronger than that in the case where only the spring pieces 13 are contacted without the connecting spring 16. Since the contact is made with a strong contact pressure, the contact area is larger than when the connection spring 16 is not provided.

  Since the contact area can be increased, power loss can be suppressed even when a large current is passed.

  In addition to the base portion at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 13, the load applied when the spring piece 13 is elastically displaced is also borne by the connecting spring 16 portion. Is distributed to the base portion of the spring piece 13 and the connecting spring 16 portion. As a result, it is difficult for plastic deformation to occur in the spring piece 13, and a stable contact state can be obtained even if there is an error in the dimensions of each part of the terminal or if the terminal insertion / removal operation is rough.

  In addition, since the stress is dispersed, the range in which the elastic displacement is possible can be expanded, a large elastic displacement is possible, and the elastic displacement of the spring piece 13 is made flexible. For this reason, it is possible to avoid damage that causes the spring piece 13 to undergo plastic deformation and deteriorate the spring property.

  These effects also increase because the connecting spring 16 that connects the spring pieces 13 has an arcuate cross-sectional shape. That is, because of its shape, the connecting spring 16 can be elastically displaced flexibly and has a wide range of elastic displacement. For this reason, it can cope with a large displacement.

  Further, since the connecting spring 16 is integral with the spring piece 13 and is regulated with an elastic force so that the interval between the spring pieces 13 is equal over the entire circumference, the elastic displacement of the spring piece 13 is performed smoothly and collectively. Prompt. At the same time, even when a large deformation is forced by a twist or the like in the insertion / removal operation, the relationship between the spring pieces 13 can be maintained. For this reason, in addition to avoiding plastic deformation as described above, it is possible to prevent distorted deformation even when the insertion / removal operation is performed roughly, and to smoothly perform the elastic displacement of the spring piece 13. You can also.

  In addition, the spring pressure (contact pressure) in contact with the pin 24 can be set according to the shape of the spring piece 13, but since the connection spring 16 is provided, the contact pressure can be adjusted by adjusting the shape and dimension of the connection spring 16. Management becomes easier.

  In addition, since the contact spring 11 can be easily manufactured by pressing or the like, there is no difficulty in manufacturing, no dedicated equipment is required, and it can be produced at low cost and is practical.

  According to the contact spring 11, as described above, the contact area can be increased and the contact state is stable. Therefore, a connector terminal that can handle a large current, and thus the connector 21, can be obtained, and the electric vehicle is expanding more and more. Contribute widely in a wide range of fields.

  To further reduce the contact resistance by increasing the contacts, the spring piece 13 may be divided into a plurality of pieces in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 13 as shown in FIG. The division may be performed only by making a cut, but it is preferable to form the gap 19 as shown in FIG. The elastic displacement range in the radial direction of the spring piece 13 can be further expanded. Both ends 19a in the longitudinal direction of the gap 19 are formed in an arc shape to reduce stress concentration.

  In the example shown in FIG. 10, in consideration of the spring rigidity of the spring piece 13, the spring piece 13 is divided into two parts centered on the longitudinal portion of the spring piece 13, that is, the range in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the pin 24.

  FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the connecting spring 16 portion showing a state where the pin 24 is inserted. In this way, since the number of contacts increases and the connecting spring 16 that acts as described above is provided, the contact area can be significantly increased in combination with the contact with a high contact pressure, and a larger current can be handled. I can expect.

The configuration described above is one mode for carrying out the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and other modes can be adopted.
For example, the contact spring may contact not only the outer peripheral surface of the pin but also the inner peripheral surface of the pin or both the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the pin.

  Since the shape of the contact spring is determined by the connection partner, the contact spring can be formed in a triangular tube shape or a square tube shape in addition to the cylindrical shape as described above.

  Further, the terminal body holding the contact spring may be a part of the male terminal instead of the terminal body of the female terminal. That is, it may be attached to the terminal body or pin of the male terminal.

  The connecting spring may be made of a material different from that of the spring piece and integrated, and the reduced diameter biasing means may be formed by winding or integrating another member such as a stretchable wire around the spring piece. Can also be configured.

  Furthermore, in the above-described example, the support portions are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction, but the support portions are provided only at one end in the longitudinal direction, and the other end of the spring piece is a free end. Good. The connecting spring regulates the spring piece and is effective in obtaining a stable contact state.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Connector terminal contact spring 13 ... Spring piece 14 ... Clearance 15 ... Reduction diameter biasing means 16 ... Connection spring 24 ... Pin 25 ... Terminal body

Claims (6)

A contact spring for a connector terminal in which a plurality of spring pieces that contact the peripheral surface of an inserted pin with elastic force are arranged in parallel with a gap and are held in a cylindrical shape within a terminal body. ,
A connector terminal contact spring provided with a reduced diameter urging means for urging the spring piece in the reduced diameter direction with an elastic force. The connector terminal contact spring according to claim 1, wherein the reduced-diameter biasing means includes a connecting spring that bridges the spring pieces. The connector terminal contact spring according to claim 1, wherein the spring piece is formed in a shape extending in an insertion direction of the pin. The contact spring for connector terminals according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the spring piece is divided into a plurality of pieces in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the spring piece. The connector terminal contact spring according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the connection spring is an arc shape. The connector terminal provided with the contact spring for connector terminals as described in any one of Claim 1 to 5.

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