JP2015015085A - Electric connector and electric connector terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connector capable of suppressing wear of plating even used under an environment of receiving vibration.SOLUTION: The electric connector includes: a female terminal 20 to which a male terminal 10 to be fit thereto is inserted; and an annular contact point terminal 22, placed between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, for electrically connecting the male terminal 10 to the female terminal 20. The contact point terminal 22 is formed of a set of a plurality of terminal segments 22a rolling relative to the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. The plurality of terminal segments 22a are arranged on a circumference by being passed through an inner ring 22e, with the rotary axis thereof orthogonal to the fitting direction of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector that can suppress the plating of a contact portion from being worn by repeated vibrations that occur during use.

  When the male connector and the female connector are fitted to each other, the electrical connector is connected while both terminals are rubbed. On the surface of the terminal, plating is formed in order to reduce electrical contact resistance. When the contacts of the terminals of both the male connector and the female connector are rubbed, the plating formed on the surface is peeled off, and the base material of the terminal may be exposed. If it does so, contact resistance will become high.

Therefore, various proposals have been made to suppress the peeling of the plating. For example, in Patent Document 1 (FIG. 1), as the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal main body and pushed by the male terminal, the female terminal main body is pushed into the insertion direction of the connector and moved. A plurality of cantilever-shaped female contact terminals are moved along the reduced inner wall surface of the inner diameter variation portion formed in the connector housing and displaced inward so that the electrical connector closely contacting the periphery of the male terminal 1 is provided. is suggesting.
In the electrical connector of Patent Document 1, the female terminal contact is displaced inward while moving along the reduced inner wall surface of the inner diameter varying portion formed in the connector housing, and is closely attached to the periphery of the male terminal at the time of fitting. To do. Therefore, since the male terminal and the female terminal are in electrical contact with each other without being rubbed against each other, it is possible to suppress the plating of the terminal contact part from being peeled off.

JP 2010-257708 A

By the way, peeling of plating can occur not only during fitting but also during use of the electrical connector. In particular, when the male connector and the female connector are relatively repeatedly displaced in an environment subject to vibration, the plating wears as both contact portions slide. If the sliding is repeated over a long period of time, the plating is worn away and the terminal base material is exposed.
The electrical connector of Patent Document 1 can suppress peeling of plating when the male connector and the female connector are fitted. However, even if it is an electrical connector of patent document 1, since the contact between a male terminal and a female terminal will slide if a male connector and a female connector displace relatively in the environment which receives a vibration, plating will be carried out. Wear.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector capable of suppressing wear of plating at a contact even when used in an environment subject to vibration. .

  The electrical connector of the present invention is interposed between one of a male terminal and a female terminal which are mating mates with each other, and between the male terminal and the female terminal, and electrically connects the male terminal and the female terminal. An annular contact terminal to be connected. The contact terminal of the present invention is characterized by comprising a set of a plurality of terminal segments that roll in the fitting direction between a male terminal and a female terminal.

  In the electrical connector according to the present invention, the terminal segment constituting the contact terminal rolls with respect to the male terminal and the female terminal. Therefore, the electrical connector of the present invention can significantly reduce the wear of the plating as compared with the conventional electrical connector in which the contacts slide. Therefore, according to the present invention, an electrical connector is provided in which reliability is maintained over a long period of time. In addition, in the case of an application in which a high current flows, an increase in contact resistance can be suppressed.

In the electrical connector according to the present invention, when the male terminal and the female terminal are fitted to each other, the terminal segment is elastically deformed by compression to generate a contact pressure on the male terminal and the female terminal. It is preferable.
Then, a low contact resistance can be stably maintained between the contact terminal and the male terminal and between the contact terminal and the female terminal.

In the electrical connector of the present invention, a holder for holding a plurality of terminal segments in an annular shape can be provided. In this case, the terminal segment is formed of a cylindrical body whose hollow portion functions as a holder passage, and the holder can pass through the holder passage of each terminal segment and hold the plurality of terminal segments in an annular shape.
According to this configuration, it is only necessary to prepare an annular member and pass the terminal segment therethrough. Therefore, it is possible to arrange and hold the plurality of terminal segments in an annular shape with a simple configuration. Even if the holder is slightly bent due to its elasticity, it does not change that it is annular.

In the electrical connector of the present invention, the holder can be provided with a function of preventing the plastic deformation of the terminal segment against the compression received by the terminal segment.
The plastic deformation element function can be obtained by appropriately setting the diameter of the holder with respect to the opening diameter of the holder passage of the terminal segment.

  In the electrical connector of the present invention, the contact terminal can be attached to the male terminal and the contact terminal can be attached to the female terminal, but the latter is preferably employed from the viewpoint of protecting the contact terminal. . In other words, if the female terminal has a receiving chamber for receiving the male terminal and the contact terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating groove facing the receiving chamber, it is possible to avoid touching the contact terminal from the outside. As a result, the contact terminals are protected.

  According to the electrical connector of the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the wear of the plating even when used in a vibration environment. This is effective in suppressing an increase in contact resistance when flowing.

1 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view showing an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. The contact terminal which comprises the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a front view of an inner ring, (c) is a perspective view of a terminal segment, (d) is a cross-sectional view, e) It is 2d-2d arrow sectional drawing of (a). It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process of fitting the electrical connector shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the reduction effect of the plating abrasion by the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1, and has shown a mode that a male type terminal is displaced to a fitting direction with respect to a female type terminal. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect by the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1, (a) shows the number of contacts of the male terminal and female terminal through a terminal segment, (b), (c) is the terminal segment by an inner ring. Plastic deformation prevention is shown, and (d) shows wiping.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The electrical connector 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3 electrically connects the female terminal 20 hold | maintained at the connector housing 3, and the male terminal 10 which is a fitting other party. The male terminal 10 and the electrical connector 1 (female terminal 20) are connected, and the electrical equipment is arbitrary. In the electrical connector 1, the side to be fitted is defined as the front, and the opposite side is defined as the rear. The same applies to the male terminal 10.

[Configuration of electrical connector 1]
First, each element constituting the electrical connector 1 will be described.
The connector housing 3 includes a storage chamber 4 that stores and holds the female terminal 20, and is integrally formed by injection molding an insulating resin. The accommodation chamber 4 has an opening on the front side for receiving the male terminal 10, but the rear side is formed by a bottom wall 3 a, and the bottom wall 3 a has an opening so that an electric wire (not shown) is crimped to the female terminal 20. . The connector housing 3 has a cylindrical shape, but the form thereof is not limited as long as the female terminal 20 can be held while having insulation.

  The female terminal 20 includes a terminal body 21 that receives the male terminal 10 therein, and a contact terminal 22 that is held in front of the terminal body 21. The terminal body 21 is electrically connected to the male terminal 10 via the contact terminal 22.

The terminal main body 21 has a cylindrical shape, and includes a bottom wall 21a and a side wall 21b extending forward from the periphery of the bottom wall 21a.
The terminal main body 21 has a cylindrical shape, and includes a bottom wall 21a and a side wall 21b extending forward from the periphery of the bottom wall 21a. An electric wire (not shown) is crimped after the bottom wall 21a.
The side wall 21b is provided with a receiving chamber 21c for receiving the male terminal 10 therein, and the front side into which the male terminal 10 is inserted is open. The side wall 21b is provided with a terminal receiving groove 21d for receiving the contact terminal 22 on the inner peripheral surface facing the receiving chamber 21c. The terminal receiving groove 21d is recessed from the inner peripheral surfaces before and after the fitting direction X, is continuous in the circumferential direction, and has a predetermined width in the fitting direction X. Before the male terminal 10 is fitted, the contact terminal 22 is disposed so as to be in contact with the front wall 21e located on the foremost side of the terminal accommodating groove 21d as shown in FIG.
The terminal body 21 is made of a metal material having a high electrical conductivity, such as copper or a copper alloy.

The contact terminal 22 is a multi-point contact (multi-contact) type terminal having a plurality of contacts electrically connected to the other party.
As shown in FIG. 2, the contact terminal 22 includes a plurality of terminal segments 22a and an inner ring 22e that holds the terminal segments 22a, and has an annular shape. However, the term “annular” in the present invention specifies the arrangement state of the plurality of terminal segments 22a, and is not based on the use of the inner ring 22e. In other words, if the plurality of terminal segments 22a are arranged on the circumference without using the inner ring 22e, it corresponds to the annular shape of the present invention.
Each terminal segment 22a is a cylindrical member made of a metal material having high conductivity and excellent elasticity, for example, copper or a copper alloy. When the male terminal 10 is fitted to the female terminal 20, the terminal segment 22 a receives a compressive load in the radial direction and elastically deforms in the direction of receiving the load, whereby the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. The necessary contact pressure is generated against

Although not shown, the terminal segment 22a is provided with a plating layer made of a metal material having a high conductivity, for example, silver, on the outer peripheral surface 22b (see FIG. 2D). On the other hand, no plating layer is provided on the inner peripheral surface 22c. As will be described in detail later, when the male terminal 10 is displaced in the fitting direction with respect to the female terminal 20 due to vibration, the terminal segment 22a is opposed to the male terminal 10 on the outer peripheral surface 22b side. And the surface facing the terminal main body 21 rolls, and slides with the inner ring 22e on the inner peripheral surface 22c side.
The terminal segment 22a includes a holding hole 22d penetrating in the axial direction. By passing the inner ring 22e through the holding hole 22d, the terminal segment 22a is held by the inner ring 22e.

The inner ring 22e functions as a holder that holds the plurality of terminal segments 22a in an annular shape.
The plurality of terminal segments 22a held by the inner ring 22e are arranged in a line on the circumference of the virtual circle specified by the inner ring 22e. Each terminal segment 22a held by the inner ring 22e can independently rotate forward and reverse with the inner ring 22e as a rotation axis (rolling axis). The rotation axis is orthogonal to the fitting direction of the male terminal and the female terminal.

The inner ring 22e is produced, for example, by bending a wire rod into an annular shape. The material of the wire constituting the inner ring 22e is not limited as long as the purpose of holding the terminal segment 22a can be achieved, and an appropriate material can be selected from a resin material and a ceramic material in addition to a metal material. Of course, the same metal material as the terminal segment 22a may be used. In this case, the inner ring 22e can also function as a conductive path. The inner ring 22e does not need to be plated on the surface.
The inner ring 22e preferably has a circular cross section in order to suppress sliding resistance with the terminal segment 22a. In order to reduce this sliding resistance, the surface of the inner ring 22e is coated with a material having a low frictional resistance, such as PTFE (Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene), or the inner ring itself is covered with the material itself. 22e can be configured.
In addition, the inner ring 22 e can have elasticity that increases in diameter when the male terminal 10 is inserted into the contact terminal 22.

  In the contact terminal 22 of this embodiment, a large number of terminal segments 22a are arranged in the circumferential direction with a minimum gap between terminal segments 22a and 22a adjacent in the circumferential direction. If it does so, terminal segment 22a, 22a ... can be made to contact equally with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the male terminal 10, and the inner peripheral surface (contact surface 21g) of the terminal main body 21. FIG. Moreover, even if a defect occurs in some of the terminal segments 22a, many normal terminal segments 22a remain. Therefore, the electrical connector 1 of this embodiment can eliminate the contact failure between the male terminal 10 and the terminal body 21.

[Mating operation]
Next, the fitting operation of the electrical connector 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
From the state before fitting shown in FIG. 3A, the male terminal 10 is pushed toward the receiving chamber 21 c of the terminal main body 21 held by the connector housing 3. At this time, the contact terminal 22 is in contact with the front wall 21e of the terminal accommodating groove 21d.
When the male terminal 10 is pushed toward the back of the receiving chamber 21c, the outer periphery of the male terminal 10 contacts the inner periphery of the contact terminal 22 as shown in FIG. When the male terminal 10 is further pushed in, the contact terminal 22 moves along with the male terminal 10 and moves toward the back of the receiving chamber 21c. During this movement, each terminal segment 22a rolls with the outer peripheral surface of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 (contact surface 21g).
As shown in FIG. 3C, when the male terminal 10 is pushed to a position where the front end of the male terminal 10 abuts against the bottom wall 21a of the female terminal 20, the contact terminal 22 enters the rear wall 21f of the receiving chamber 21c. Move until it hits.

  When the male terminal 10 is fitted to the female terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 5B, the terminal segment 22a receives a compressive load and contracts in the radial direction. The terminal segment 22a can be brought into contact with both the male terminal 10 and the terminal body 21 of the female terminal 20 with a necessary contact pressure by this elastic deformation.

  As described above, the contact terminal 22 moves in the terminal accommodating groove 21d from the front wall 21e (front side) toward the rear wall 21f (back side) in the process of fitting the male terminal 10 to the female terminal 20. To do. During this movement, the inner ring 22e is not able to rotate and moves in parallel. On the other hand, each terminal segment 22 a rotates between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 around the inner ring 22 e. Since each terminal segment 22a rotates while contacting each of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, the terminal segment 22a rolls with respect to the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. As described above, the contact terminal 22 functions as a bearing in addition to functioning as a terminal of the electrical connector. When the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 are in the posture shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal segment 22a rotates clockwise in the process of fitting.

  To release the fitted state between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, the male terminal 10 is pulled out from the connector housing 3. Then, the contact terminal 22 moves in the terminal accommodating groove 21d from the rear wall 21f (back) to the front wall 21e (front) while performing the reverse operation to that during fitting.

[Operation of contact terminal 22 when electrical connector is used]
When the electrical connector 1 in which the male terminal 10 is fitted to the female terminal 20 is used in an environment subject to vibration, the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 are fitted in the fitting direction X along with this vibration. Is relatively displaced. In the electrical connector 1, wear of the plating is suppressed by rolling the terminal segment 22 a in the process in which the contact terminal 22 is displaced. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the black circles attached to the terminal segments 22a and the black circles attached to the inner ring 22e are for helping to understand the relative positional relationship in the respective rotation directions. .

First, it is assumed that the terminal segment 22a is placed at a predetermined position between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 as shown in FIG.
FIG. 4B shows a case where the male terminal 10 is displaced from the position of FIG. 4A in the direction X1 in which the male terminal 10 is pulled out, but the terminal segment 22a is male with the displacement of the male terminal 10. While rolling between the terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, it can rotate clockwise CW in the figure. Although the inner ring 22e is actually displaced in the direction X1, FIG. 4 (b) shows the inner ring 22e in alignment with the position shown in FIG. 4 (a). The same applies to FIG.
On the other hand, when the male terminal 10 is displaced from the position of FIG. 4A in the direction X2 into which the male terminal 10 is pushed, the terminal segment 22a rolls between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, , It will rotate counterclockwise CCW.

[effect]
Hereinafter, the effect which the electrical connector 1 by this embodiment show | plays is demonstrated.
<Inhibition of plating wear>
According to the electrical connector 1 configured as described above, the terminal segment 22 a rolls with respect to each of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. Therefore, the terminal segment 22a, the male terminal 10 and the female terminal are compared with the conventional electrical connector in which the plating films slide even when being continuously used in a vibration environment as well as at the time of fitting and removal. It is possible to remarkably suppress the plating applied to the surface of 20 from being worn. Therefore, the electrical connector 1 contributes to extending the life by improving the reliability, and can suppress an increase in contact resistance particularly when a high current flows.
Here, the inner peripheral surface 22c of the terminal segment 22a and the outer peripheral surface 22f of the inner ring 22e slide, but since neither surface is plated, there is no fear of plating wear due to this sliding. In other words, in the present embodiment, the sliding that inevitably occurs with the relative movement of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 is applied to the part that is not plated and the part that is plated. Causes rolling to prevent plating wear.

<Stability of contact resistance>
Further, according to the electrical connector 1, each of the terminal segments 22 a arranged in the circumferential direction is elastically deformed by a load received when the male terminal 10 is fitted, so that the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. The required contact pressure for the terminal body 21 can be easily obtained. In addition, since the electrical connector 1 uses the cylindrical terminal segment 22a, as shown in FIG. 5A, ideally, one terminal segment 22a is one of the male terminals 10 and P1. A total of three points of contact are provided at two locations, the female terminal 20 (terminal body 21) and P2 and P3. Therefore, the electrical connector 1 has a stable contact resistance as compared with the case where there are two contacts.
Further, the electrical connector 1 uses a large number of terminal segments 22a, so that the electrical connector 1 is in a multipoint contact with the male terminal 10 and the terminal body 21 and can reduce the concentrated resistance. In addition, when multipoint contact is employed, even if a connection failure occurs in some contact portions, it is less susceptible to the influence. Multipoint contact is an important factor in realizing low contact resistance in an electrical connector for applications where a large current flows.

<Preventing plastic deformation of terminal segment 22a>
The electrical connector 1 has a structure in which the inner ring 22e rotatably supports the terminal segment 22a. This structure can prevent the terminal segment 22a from being plastically deformed.
Suppression of plating wear is an effect against the relative displacement of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20 in the fitting direction X, but the displacement based on vibration is not limited to the fitting direction but also occurs in the radial direction. . If the male terminal 10 is greatly displaced in the radial direction, the terminal segment 22a may be crushed beyond the assumed elastic region and may be plastically deformed. The plastically deformed terminal segment 22a cannot obtain a necessary contact pressure. However, as shown in FIG. 5B, since the inner ring 22e is inserted into the terminal segment 22a, the terminal segment 22a can be prevented from being plastically deformed by selecting the diameter of the inner ring 22e. . That is, if the clearance between the inner ring 22e and the terminal segment 22a is set within the range of the elastic range of the terminal segment 22a, the deformation due to the compression of the terminal segment 22a can be kept within the elastic range. In this case, the inner ring 22e needs to have a strength that does not easily deform its cross section due to compression.
On the other hand, if the inner ring 22e is not provided, the terminal segment 22a has a large amount of compressive deformation as shown in FIG.

<Wiping of plating surface>
Although the terminal segment 22a is plated, a coating may be formed on the plated surface. For example, when silver plating is left in the air, a silver sulfide film is formed on the surface. Since this film has a higher electric resistance than pure silver, it is desired to be removed. The electrical connector 1 can exhibit the effect of removing the film.
When the electrical connector 1 is engaged with the male terminal 10 and the contact terminal 22 hits the rear wall 21f of the terminal receiving groove 21d of the terminal body 21 as shown by the broken line in FIG. 22 cannot move because the rear wall 21f becomes an obstacle. However, if the male terminal 10 is further pushed in from there to reach the fitting completion position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5D, the terminal segment 22a is one of the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20. Or it will slide with both. By this sliding operation, the film and other foreign matters adhering to the plating surface can be peeled off and removed. By removing the coating and foreign matter, the plated films with pure metal exposed on the surfaces come into contact with each other, thereby realizing stable contact resistance.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the configurations described in the above embodiments can be selected or modified as appropriate to other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention.
As long as the terminal segment 22a rolls between the male terminal 10 and the female terminal 20, the specification is arbitrary. However, if the dimension (length) in the rotation axis direction is too large relative to the curvature of the inner ring 22e, it is difficult for the terminal segment 22a to rotate with respect to the inner ring 22e. Therefore, it is necessary to select the length of the terminal segment 22a that is rotatably held by the inner ring 22e.
In the electrical connector 1, a large number of terminal segments 22a are densely arranged in the circumferential direction. However, if the plating wear due to rolling of the terminal segments 22a can be suppressed, the electrical connector 1 is provided between adjacent terminal segments 22a. A predetermined gap may be provided.
Moreover, although the electrical connector 1 showed the example which provides one contact terminal 22, this invention can also provide the some contact terminal 22 in a fitting direction.

The electrical connector 1 uses a cylindrical terminal segment 22a as a rolling element, but is not particularly limited, and a known one may be used as appropriate. As another example, a terminal segment such as a drum shape or a spherical shape may be used. Alternatively, the terminal segment can be formed of a coil spring.
The manufacturing method of the contact terminal 22 is arbitrary, but after passing the required number of terminal segments 22a through the linear wire material used as the inner ring 22e, the wire material is bent into a perfect circle and the ends to be abutted with each other The contact ring 22 can be obtained by joining the inner ring 22e, and the inner ring 22e can be produced through the number of terminal segments 22a required for the material of the inner ring 22e curved to some extent.
Moreover, the manufacturing method of the terminal segment 22a is also arbitrary, and can be obtained by using a known processing method such as punching a plate-shaped material or cutting a long tubular material.

  The electrical connector 1 includes an inner ring 22e that holds the terminal segment 22a. However, the inner ring 22e can be omitted in the present invention. In this case, an alternative means of the inner ring 22e that holds the plurality of terminal segments 22a in an annular shape is necessary. For example, the terminal receiving groove 21d may be shaped so that the terminal segment 22a can be rotatably held.

The electrical connector 1 includes a contact terminal 22 inside the terminal body 21, and the contact terminal 22 belongs to the female terminal 20, but the contact terminal 22 may belong to the male terminal 10. However, if the contact terminal 22 is provided inside the terminal body 21 like the electrical connector 1, it is not easy to touch the contact terminal 22 from the outside. It is advantageous for protection.
In addition, the forms of the male terminal 10, the female terminal 20, and the connector housing 3 are merely examples, and the present invention allows other forms to be adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrical connector 3 Connector housing 3a Bottom wall 4 Accommodating chamber 10 Male terminal 22e Inner ring 20 Female terminal 21 Terminal body 21a Bottom wall 21b Side wall 21c Receiving chamber 21d Terminal accommodating groove 21e Front wall 21f Rear wall 21g Contact surface 22 Contact terminal 22a Terminal segment 22b Outer peripheral surface 22c Inner peripheral surface 22d Holding hole 22e Inner ring 22f Outer peripheral surface

Claims (6)

Either one of a male terminal and a female terminal that are mating counterparts;
An annular contact terminal interposed between the male terminal and the female terminal, and electrically connecting the male terminal and the female terminal;
The contact terminal is
A set of a plurality of terminal segments that roll in the fitting direction between the male terminal and the female terminal,
An electrical connector characterized by that. The terminal segment is
When the male terminal and the female terminal are fitted to each other,
By causing elastic deformation by compression, a contact pressure is generated for the male terminal and the female terminal.
The electrical connector according to claim 1. The contact terminal is
A holder for holding the plurality of terminal segments in an annular shape;
The terminal segment is a cylindrical body whose hollow portion functions as a holder passage,
The holder passes through the holder passage of each of the terminal segments and holds the plurality of terminal segments in an annular shape;
The electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2. The holder is
Resisting the compression experienced by the terminal segment and preventing plastic deformation of the terminal segment;
The electrical connector according to claim 2 or 3. The female terminal includes a receiving chamber for receiving the male terminal,
The contact terminal is accommodated in a terminal accommodating groove facing the receiving chamber.
The electrical connector as described in any one of Claims 1-4. It is interposed between a male terminal and a female terminal that are mating mates with each other, and is a terminal of an electrical connector that electrically connects the male terminal and the female terminal,
The terminal is a terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Electrical connector terminal characterized by the above.

Images