JP2014093248A - Relay connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relay connector capable of positioning a terminal.SOLUTION: A relay connector includes: a body portion 20 having a first positioning portion 21 and a seal member storing portion 22 provided behind that; a first fitting portion 31 provided before the body portion 20, and with which a first connector can be fitted; a second positioning portion 70 installed behind the seal member storing portion 22, and which is a separated member from the body portion; a second fitting portion 36 provided behind the body portion 20, and with which a second connector 85 can be fitted; a terminal 50 penetrating the body portion 20 in a fore-and-aft direction, projecting out a front end portion 52 into the first fitting portion 31, and projecting out a rear end portion 53 into the second fitting portion 36; and a seal member 60 installed to the seal member storing portion 22, and sealing between the terminal 50 and the body portion 20. The terminal 50 is positioned by the first positioning portion 21 and the second positioning portion 70.

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay connector.

  Generally, in the relay connector, connector fitting portions are provided on both sides of the connector housing via partition walls. In addition, terminals are press-fitted and held on the partition wall with both ends projecting from the connector fitting portions. Among such relay connectors, various methods are used to improve the sealing performance between the terminal and the partition wall in the relay connector that is required to have a waterproof / oilproof function. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method using a potting agent. However, in the method using a potting agent, the procedure for thermal curing is complicated, and it is necessary to cool slowly after curing, so the cooling process takes time. On the other hand, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, there is also known a method for improving sealing performance by using a rubber plug between a terminal and a partition wall. According to this method, the rubber plug can be easily attached to the connector housing, and the time for thermosetting and cooling is not required, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

JP 2000-40551 A Japanese Patent No. 3293453

By the way, depending on the specifications of the connector, it may be necessary to make the partition wall thin. However, if the partition wall is thinned, the partition wall cannot sufficiently perform the function of holding the terminal. In such a state, when one connector is fitted first, when the dimensional accuracy of one connector is poor, the terminal is displaced in a seesaw shape around the partition wall, so that the one fitted later The terminal end may be misaligned.
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and provides a relay connector capable of accurately positioning terminals regardless of the dimensional accuracy of the connector to be previously fitted. Objective.

  The relay connector according to the present invention includes a main body portion having a first positioning portion and a seal member housing portion provided behind the first positioning portion, and a first fitting that is provided in front of the main body portion and into which the first connector can be fitted. A second positioning portion that is mounted on the rear side of the main body portion and a second fitting portion that is fitted on the rear side of the main body portion and that can be fitted to the second connector. And a terminal penetrating the body portion in the front-rear direction, a front end portion thereof protruding into the first fitting portion, and a rear end portion thereof protruding into the second fitting portion, and the seal member accommodating portion And a sealing member that seals between the terminal and the main body, and the terminal is positioned by the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion. It has a special feature.

  According to such a configuration, the terminal can be held and positioned at at least two locations of the second positioning portion which is a separate member from the first positioning portion provided in the main body portion. Therefore, even if the dimensional accuracy of the connector fitted first is not so good, the terminal is prevented from being displaced in a seesaw shape, and the occurrence of positional deviation of the terminal with respect to the connector fitted later can be suppressed.

The following configuration may be adopted as an embodiment of the present invention.
The terminal has a wide portion, and the first positioning portion can be brought into contact with the front edge of the wide portion, and the second positioning portion can be brought into contact with the rear edge of the wide portion and locked. It is good also as a structure made into.
According to such a structure, the 1st positioning part can play a role as a front stop of a terminal, and the 2nd positioning part can play a role as a terminal prevention.

The terminal and the seal member may be integrally formed in advance.
According to such a configuration, the terminal and the seal member can be integrally formed in advance, and the terminal and the seal member can be combined and attached to the seal member housing portion. For this reason, mounting | wearing of a sealing member becomes easy and it leads also to the reduction of a man-hour.

  According to the present invention, positioning of the terminals of the relay connector can be performed with high accuracy regardless of the dimensional accuracy of the connector fitted first.

The top view of the relay connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention Front view Rear view Cross sectional view Front view of seal member molded integrally with terminal Side view of seal member molded integrally with terminal Side cross-sectional view of relay connector with terminal and seal member installed Flat cross-sectional view of relay connector with terminal and seal member installed Partially cutaway sectional view of the relay connector attached to the device

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the relay connector 10 is used as a relay connector of the present invention, which is used in a transmission portion of a vehicle, and relays between an electrical component in the mission case C and an external device. As shown in FIG. 7, the relay connector 10 includes a resin connector housing 15, a metal terminal 50 assembled to the connector housing 15, a rubber seal member 60, and a resin alignment holder 70. It is configured with.

  The structure of the connector housing 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector housing 15 has square tube-shaped hood portions 31 and 36 (first fitting portion, second fitting portion) projecting on both sides of the short columnar body portion 20 and on the side of the body portion. A mounting portion 40 is provided. In the following description, with respect to the front-rear direction, the side with the first hood portion 31 (outside of the transmission case C) is defined as the front with respect to the vertical direction illustrated in FIG. 1, and the vertical direction illustrated in FIG. As a reference, the one having lock portions 32 and 37, which will be described later, is the upper side.

  Inside the main body 20, as shown in FIG. 4, a partition wall 21 (first positioning portion) formed on the rear surface of the first hood portion 31, a seal member accommodating portion 22 formed on the rear thereof, An alignment holder housing portion 23 formed on the rear side is formed. Further, a ring mounting groove 24 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 20 in the circumferential direction over the entire circumference, and a rubber seal ring 80 (see FIG. 9) is fitted therein. As shown in FIG. 9, a seal ring 80 is sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface of the case mounting hole C1 and the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 20 in a compressed state. Sealing performance is ensured.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the first hood portion 31 protrudes from the mission case C when attached to the mission case C. A first connector (female connector) (not shown) can be fitted to the first hood portion 31, and a cavity for accommodating a female terminal is formed inside the first connector. By inserting the front end 52 of the terminal 50 of the relay connector 10 into the female terminal, the first connector and the relay connector 10 are electrically connected. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first guide rib 33 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first hood portion 31 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. A pair of first guide ribs 33 are provided side by side in the left-right direction. A first lock portion 32 is provided between the first guide ribs 33 adjacent in the left-right direction. The first lock portion 32 engages with a lock arm formed on the first connector fitted to the first hood portion 31. As a result, the first connector is locked in a state of being fitted to the first hood portion 31.

  Further, when the second hood portion 36 is attached to the mission case C, the second connector 85 (see FIG. 7) is inserted into the case attachment hole C1 and connected to an electrical component (not shown) in the mission case C. And fitted. A second connector 85 (female connector) can be fitted into the second hood portion 36, and a cavity for accommodating a female terminal is formed inside the second connector 85. By inserting the rear end portion 53 of the terminal 50 of the relay connector 10 into the female terminal, the second connector 85 and the relay connector 10 are electrically connected. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a second guide rib 38 having a shape extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the second hood portion 36. A pair of second guide ribs 38 are provided side by side in the left-right direction. A second lock portion 37 is provided between the second guide ribs 38 adjacent in the left-right direction. The second lock portion 37 is engaged with a lock arm formed on the second connector 85 that is fitted to the second hood portion 36. As a result, the second connector 85 is locked in a state of being fitted to the second hood portion 36.

  A mounting portion 40 is formed on the right side of the main body portion 20 in front view so as to project to the right side, and the mounting portion 40 is provided with a mounting hole 41 penetrating in the front-rear direction. A metal collar 42 is fitted into the mounting hole 41 by press-fitting or insert molding. A screw groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the collar 42. A screw 46 (see FIG. 9) is inserted into the collar 42 and tightened into a screw hole C2 provided on the side surface of the mission case C1, whereby the connector housing 15 is fixed to the mission case C by metal touch.

  The partition wall 21 is formed with eight insertion holes 26 penetrating in the front-rear direction, two rows in the vertical direction and four rows in the left-right direction. A terminal 50 is press-fitted into each insertion hole 26, and a front end portion 52 of the terminal 50 protrudes into the first hood portion 31 and a rear end portion 53 of the terminal 50 protrudes into the second hood portion 36. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a wide portion 51 is formed near the front of the terminal 50. A front end portion 52 that protrudes into the first hood portion 31 is formed in front of the wide portion 51. Further, a rear end portion 53 protruding from the second hood portion 36 after passing through the alignment holder 70 in the front-rear direction is provided behind the wide portion 51. In addition, the length which protrudes in the 1st food | hood part 31 of the terminal 50 and the length which protrudes in the 2nd food | hood part 36 are substantially the same. On the other hand, the wide portion 51 is formed at a position shifted forward from the center of the terminal 50. The wide portion 51 has a flat plate shape, and a seal member 60 is integrally formed at the center of the wide portion 51. By forming the seal member 60 integrally with the terminal 50, the interface between the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 is brought into close contact with no gap, and the sealing performance between the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 is ensured.

  A hollow portion is formed between the rear surface of the second hood portion 36 and the partition wall 21 of the main body portion 20. Behind the partition wall 21, a rectangular tube-shaped sealing member accommodating portion 22 is formed. A seal member 60 is mounted in the seal member housing portion 22 together with the terminals 50. The seal member 60 is made of rubber and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIGS. On the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 60, lip portions 61 forming ridges on the entire periphery are formed in two rows in the front-rear direction. The size (normal cross-sectional area) of the seal member 60 including the lip portion 61 is set to be slightly larger than that of the seal member accommodating portion 22, and the seal member accommodating portion 22 is compressed in a state where the protruding portion 61 is compressed. Installed. Note that the length of the seal member housing portion 22 in the front-rear direction is substantially equal to the length of the wide portion 51 of the terminal 50 (the seal member housing portion 22 is slightly longer in the front-rear direction than the seal member 60). Is getting longer). Further, the front edge 51 a of the wide portion 51 is in contact with the rear side of the partition wall 21.

  An alignment holder accommodating portion 23 is formed adjacent to the rear of the seal member accommodating portion 22 (between the seal member accommodating portion 22 and the second hood portion 36). The alignment holder accommodating portion 23 has a rectangular tube shape that is slightly larger than the seal member accommodating portion 22. An alignment holder 70 (second positioning portion) is attached to the alignment holder housing portion 23. The alignment holder 70 is made of resin and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIGS. Its size (normal cross-sectional area) is substantially the same as that of the alignment holder accommodating portion 23. For this reason, once the alignment holder 70 is mounted in the alignment holder housing 23, the alignment holder 70 hardly rattles in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  The alignment holder 70 is provided with a total of eight through holes 71 penetrating in the front-rear direction, two rows in the vertical direction and four rows in the left-right direction. That is, the through hole 71 is disposed corresponding to the terminal 50 that is integrally formed with the seal member 60. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 71 is a shape that follows the cross-sectional shape of the rear end portion 53 of the terminal 50, and the size thereof is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the rear end portion 53. Further, a guide surface 72 for facilitating insertion of the terminal 50 is provided on the front surface portion of the through hole 71 of the alignment holder 70. Further, the rear edge 51 b of the wide portion 51 of the terminal 50 is in contact with the front end surface of the alignment holder 70.

  Further, the alignment holder 70 is provided with a holder lock portion 73 for locking the alignment holder 70 at a fixed position. The holder lock portion 73 is formed on the upper portion of the alignment holder 70 so as to be elastically deformable. A lock hole 28 is formed in the up and down direction behind the alignment holder accommodating portion 23, and the holder lock portion 73 can be locked in the lock hole 28. When the holder lock portion 73 is locked in the lock hole 28, the alignment holder 70 is locked at a fixed position of the alignment holder housing portion 23. When the alignment holder 70 is locked at a fixed position, the alignment holder 70 and the alignment holder 70 are almost equal in size, so that the alignment holder 70 is fixed without shaking.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. A method of attaching each member to the connector housing 15 of the relay connector 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, the seal member 60 is integrally formed with the terminal 50. The rear end 53 of the terminal 50 is inserted from the rear end 53 of the terminal 50 to the guide surface 72 of the alignment holder 70 while sliding. The alignment holder 70 is inserted into the rear end portion 53 of the terminal 50 until the front surface of the alignment holder 70 contacts the rear edge 51b of the wide portion 51 of the terminal 50. Since the cross-sectional areas of the through hole 71 of the alignment holder 70 and the terminal 50 are substantially the same, when the alignment holder 70 is inserted into a fixed position, the terminal 50 is fixed so as not to move substantially vertically and horizontally. In addition, by attaching the alignment holder 70 in advance, it is easier to install the terminal 50 than to insert the terminal 50 into the main body 20 after installation.

  With the alignment holder 70 attached to the terminal 50, the terminal 50 and the like are attached from the second hood portion 36 side. The terminal 50 is press-fitted into the partition wall 21 to a position where the front edge 51 a of the wide portion 51 contacts the partition wall 21. When the terminal 50 is press-fitted into the partition wall 21, the terminal 50 is held with almost no gap between the terminal 50 and the partition wall 21. Further, when the terminal 50 comes to the fixed position, the alignment holder 70 also comes to the fixed position, so that the holder lock portion 73 of the alignment holder 70 that has been elastically deformed downward is locked in the lock hole 28 (FIG. 7). reference). Thus, the front edge 51 a of the wide portion 51 of the terminal 50 contacts the partition wall 21, and the rear edge 51 b of the wide portion 51 contacts the alignment holder 70. Since the holder lock portion 73 of the alignment holder 70 is locked in the lock hole 28, the terminal 50 is also fixed in the front-rear direction.

  The terminal 50 is fixed to the relay connector 10 so as not to move substantially in the front-rear direction and the left-right up-down direction. The second connector 85 is fitted into the second hood portion 36 of the relay connector 10 (see FIG. 7). The rear end portion 53 of the terminal 50 protruding to the second hood portion 36 is inserted into the female terminal of the second connector 85, and the second lock portion 37 is engaged with the lock arm of the second connector 85, so that the first 2 The connector 85 and the second hood 36 are fitted. When the terminal 50 is inserted into the female terminal, the terminal 50 is held at two locations, that is, the partition wall 21 and the alignment holder 70, and the held position is fixed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the front and rear end portions 52 and 53 of the terminal 50 from being displaced in a seesaw shape, and the positional deviation of the front end portion 52 of the terminal 50 hardly occurs.

  In a state where the second connector 85 is fitted, the screw 46 is inserted into the collar 42 provided in the mounting portion 40 and tightened into the screw hole C2 provided on the side surface of the mission case C1. The connector housing 15 is fixed to the transmission case C by tightening the screw 46. Then, the 1st connector which is not illustrated is fitted with the 1st food | hood part 31, and connects between the electrical equipment in the mission case C and an external apparatus. At that time, since the position of the front end portion 52 of the terminal 50 is in a predetermined position in the first hood portion 31, the female terminal of the first connector and the front end portion 52 of the terminal 50 are securely fitted in a proper posture. Is done.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminals 50 are held at at least two locations of the partition wall 21 (first positioning portion) and the alignment holder 70 (second positioning portion) provided in the main body portion 20. Therefore, even if the dimensional accuracy of the second connector 85 fitted earlier is not so good, the terminal 50 is prevented from being displaced in a seesaw shape, and the displacement of the terminal 50 relative to the first connector fitted later is generated. Can be suppressed.

  The terminal 50 has a wide portion 51, and the front edge 51 a of the wide portion 51 can be brought into contact with the partition wall 21 (first positioning portion), and the alignment holder 70 (second positioning portion). ) May be configured to abut against the rear edge 51b of the wide portion 51 and be locked. According to such a configuration, the partition wall 21 (first positioning portion) can serve as a front terminal of the terminal, and the alignment holder 70 (positioning portion) can serve as a stopper for the terminal 50 to come off. it can.

  Further, the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 may be integrally formed in advance. According to such a configuration, the sealing performance is expected to be improved by integrally forming the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 in advance. Further, by attaching the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 together to the seal member accommodating portion 22, the seal member 60 can be easily attached and the man-hour can be reduced.

<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 above embodiment, the terminal 50 is press-fitted into the partition wall 21. However, if the terminal 50 can be held in a non-rattle state, the terminal 50 may be attached to the partition wall 21 by other methods such as insert molding. Good.
(2) In the above embodiment, the second positioning portion is a rectangular parallelepiped alignment holder 70. However, as long as the terminal 50 can be held so as to suppress displacement in a seesaw shape, other shapes such as a flat plate-shaped alignment plate may be used. But you can.

(3) In the above embodiment, the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 are integrally formed. However, if the sealing performance between the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 can be secured, the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 May be formed separately.
(4) In the above embodiment, the alignment holder 70 is previously attached to the terminal 50 and then inserted into a predetermined position. However, after the terminal 50 and the seal member 60 are inserted into the predetermined position, the alignment holder 70 is attached. Also good.
(5) In the above embodiment, the alignment holder storage portion 23 is provided in the main body portion 20, but it may be provided in the second hood portion 36.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Relay connector 15 ... Connector housing 20 ... Main-body part 21 ... Partition wall (1st positioning part) 22 ... Seal member accommodating part 23 ... Alignment holder accommodating part 31 ... 1st food | hood part (1st fitting part) 36 ... 1st 2 Hood part (2nd fitting part) 50 ... Terminal 51 ... Wide part 60 ... Sealing member 70 ... Alignment holder (2nd positioning part)

Claims (3)

A main body having a first positioning portion and a seal member accommodating portion provided behind the first positioning portion;
A first fitting portion provided in front of the main body portion and capable of fitting the first connector;
A second positioning part that is mounted behind the seal member housing part and is a separate member from the main body part;
A second fitting portion provided behind the main body portion and capable of fitting the second connector;
A terminal penetrating the main body portion in the front-rear direction, a front end portion thereof protruding into the first fitting portion, and a rear end portion thereof protruding into the second fitting portion;
A seal member that is mounted on the seal member housing portion and seals between the terminal and the main body portion;
The relay connector is characterized in that the terminal is positioned by the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion. The terminal has a wide portion;
A front edge of the wide portion is in contact with the first positioning portion;
The relay connector according to claim 1, wherein the second positioning portion is in contact with and locked to a rear edge of the wide portion.   The relay connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal and the seal member are integrally formed in advance.

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