JP2017204431A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm presence of an insulating cap, even in a state covered with a lid.SOLUTION: A connector includes a male terminal 20 having an insulating cap 30 attached to the tip thereof, a connector housing 40 for housing the male terminal 20, and provided with an opening 45 on the tip side of the male terminal 20, a lid 61 covering the opening 45 of the connector housing 40, and a cap check member 70 provided movably in the penetration direction while penetrating the lid 61. In a state where the cap 30 is attached, one end of the cap check member is visible from the outside of the lid 61 while holding the other end at a normal position by abutting against the tip of the cap 30, while in a state where the cap 30 is removed, the cap check member is held closer to the male terminal 20 side than the normal position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Conventionally, in order to charge a battery of an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, a vehicle-side connector fitted to a charging connector connected to an external power source is provided on the vehicle side. As this type of vehicle-side connector, for example, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-63687 is known. In this connector, a male terminal is accommodated, and in order to protect the tip of the male terminal and suppress the intrusion of foreign matter, a lid portion covering the male terminal is provided at the fitting side opening of the connector housing. Is provided. In addition, an insulating cap is attached to the tip of the male terminal as a measure against the finger.

JP 2014-63687 A

  However, in a state where the opening of the connector is covered with the lid, it is not known whether the insulating cap is attached to or removed from the tip of the male terminal. For this reason, if you forget to attach an insulating cap, or if the connector is removed due to an impact at the time of mating / removing the connector, if you remove the lid and carelessly insert your finger into the opening, your finger will become a male terminal. There is a risk of touching.

  The connector disclosed in the present specification includes a male terminal having an insulating cap attached to a tip, a connector housing that houses the male terminal, and an opening is provided on a tip side of the male terminal, and the connector A lid that covers the opening of the housing, and is provided so as to be movable in the penetrating direction while penetrating the lid. When the cap is attached, one end of the cap abuts against the tip of the cap While being held in position, the other end is visible from the outside of the lid, and in a state where the cap is removed, a cap check member that is held closer to the male terminal than the normal position is provided.

  According to such a configuration, the cap check member is provided so as to penetrate the lid portion and be movable in the penetration direction. Therefore, in a state where the insulating cap is attached, one end of the cap check member abuts on the cap, and the other end is visible from the outside of the lid portion. On the other hand, since the other end of the cap check member is located closer to the male terminal side than the normal position when the insulating cap is removed, it can be confirmed that the cap is also removed from the outside of the lid.

As an embodiment of the connector disclosed in this specification, the following configuration may be adopted.
The connector housing accommodates a plurality of the male terminals, and the cap check member is provided for each of the plurality of male terminals, is movable in the penetrating direction of the lid portion, and is prevented from being detached from the lid portion. A plurality of shaft portions and a handle portion that connects the other end sides of the plurality of shaft portions may be provided, and the handle portion may not be gripped when the cap is removed. .

  In such a configuration, the cap check member can serve as a handle of the lid portion by the plurality of shaft portions secured to the lid portion and the handle portion connecting the other end side of the shaft portion. When the cap is removed, the shaft portion is pulled toward the male terminal, so that the handle portion cannot be gripped and the lid portion cannot be removed.

  According to the connector disclosed in this specification, the presence or absence of the insulating cap can be confirmed even in the state covered with the lid.

The perspective view of the connector in an embodiment Front view of connector Sectional view at III-III position in FIG. Sectional view with the cap removed

<Embodiment>
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
In the present embodiment, a vehicle-side connector 10 that is connected to a charging circuit for a battery mounted on a vehicle and that is compatible with the “Combined Charging System” is exemplified. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle-side connector 10 includes a normal charging connector 11 for normal charging and a quick charging connector 15 (an example of a “connector”) that is fitted to a charging connector that supplies a direct current. I have.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the quick charging connector 15 includes a male terminal 20, a connector housing 40 that houses the male terminal 20, and a cover member 60. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the upper side in FIG. 3 (the side on which the cover member 60 is mounted) is the front side, and the lower side in FIG. 3 is the rear side. Further, regarding the vertical direction, FIG. 2 is used as a reference, and the upper side of FIG. 2 is the upper side and the lower side of FIG. 2 is the lower side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the male terminal 20 includes a terminal main body 21 and an insulating cap 30 (an example of a “cap”) attached to the tip (front side) thereof.
The terminal body 21 is made of a metal round bar such as copper or copper alloy, and is formed into an elongated round pin shape extending in the front-rear direction (axial direction) as a whole through a process such as forging or cutting, and the surface is plated. It has been subjected. Moreover, the terminal main body 21 is provided between the terminal connection part 23 connected with a female terminal, the electric wire connection part 25 connected with an electric wire, and the terminal connection part 23 and the electric wire connection part 25, and is bowl-shaped outside. And a flange portion 27 projecting over the surface.

  The terminal connection part 23 is smaller in diameter than the wire connection part 25 and is formed in a round pin shape having the same diameter over the entire length. An insulating cap 30 is attached to the distal end surface 23 </ b> A of the terminal connection portion 23. For this reason, a mounting hole 29 is formed at the center of the distal end surface 23 </ b> A of the terminal connection portion 23. The mounting hole 29 is formed by cutting a hole having a predetermined depth with a drill or the like.

  The insulating cap 30 is made of a synthetic resin and includes a cap body 31 having the same diameter as the outer diameter of the terminal connection portion 23 of the terminal body 21. The tip of the cap body 31 is tapered toward the front side (tip side). Further, a round bar-like press-fit portion 33 that can be press-fitted into a mounting hole 29 formed in the distal end surface 23 </ b> A of the terminal connection portion 23 is integrally formed at the center of the rear surface of the cap main body portion 31. The outer diameter of the press-fit portion 33 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the mounting hole 29. Then, the insulating cap 30 is fixed to the terminal body 21 by press-fitting the press-fitting portion 33 into the mounting hole 29.

The electric wire connecting portion 25 is initially formed in a cylindrical shape, and is connected to the electric wire by caulking from the outside in a state where the core wire exposed from the insulating coating is inserted inward at the end portion of the electric wire (not shown).
The flange portion 27 projects like a bowl on the outer peripheral side.
A synthetic resin retainer (not shown) is mounted behind the male terminal 20 to prevent the male terminal fitting 10 from coming off the connector housing 40.

  The connector housing 40 is made of synthetic resin and has a horizontally long shape in the width direction as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The connector housing 40 includes a terminal accommodating portion 41 that accommodates the male terminal 20 and a hood portion 43 that surrounds the terminal accommodating portion 41. The connector housing 40 is attached to the body of the vehicle together with the normal charging connector 11 in an oblique posture such that the rear is lowered downward.

  The hood part 43 is provided in the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating part 41, and is made into the form which surrounds the terminal accommodating part 41 over a perimeter. Further, a space S that allows the hood portion of the mating connector to enter and opens forward is provided between the hood portion 43 and the terminal accommodating portion 41 over the entire circumference.

  The terminal accommodating portion 41 is a cylindrical body having an oblong shape that is horizontally long in the front view width direction, and an opening 45 is provided on the front side (the distal end side of the male terminal 20). In the terminal accommodating part 41, a pair of cavity 47 in which a pair of male terminals 20 are individually accommodated from the rear is provided. The pair of cavities 47 are formed side by side in the width direction, and have a form penetrating the terminal accommodating portion 41 in the front-rear direction. In addition, the terminal accommodating portion 41 is provided with a front stop wall 49 at the rear end portion in the front-rear direction of the cavity 47 by reducing the inner diameter of the cavity 47. The male terminal 20 is positioned by the flange portion 27 of the male terminal 20 coming into contact with the front stop wall 49.

  The cover member 60 covers the opening 45 of the connector housing 40 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The cover member 60 includes a lid portion 61 that is horizontally long in the front view width direction, and a handle member 70 (an example of a “cap check member”) that is gripped when the cover member 60 is removed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lid portion 61 is a flat plate member, and the outer shape of the lid portion 61 is the same as the outer shape of the hood portion 43. In addition, an insertion portion 63 that can be fitted onto the terminal accommodating portion 41 is provided on the back surface side (rear side) of the lid portion 61. The insertion part 63 is a cylindrical body having an oblong shape that is horizontally long in the front view width direction, and can be inserted into the space S between the hood part 43 and the terminal accommodating part 41. In addition, the inner diameter of the insertion portion 63 is the same as the outer diameter of the terminal accommodating portion 41, and the outer diameter of the insertion portion 63 is smaller than the inner diameter of the hood portion 43. Further, the insertion part 63 has a dimension in the front-rear direction so as to cover the front half of the terminal accommodating part 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lid portion 61 is provided with a thick portion 65 having a thick plate thickness (dimension in the front-rear direction). The thick portion 65 has substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the lid portion 61, and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the lid portion 61. Specifically, the outer dimension of the thick part 65 is substantially the same as the outer dimension of the insertion part 63. The thick portion 65 is formed by the front surface of the lid portion 61 protruding forward.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the thick portion 65 is provided with a pair of through holes 67 that penetrate in the plate thickness direction (front-rear direction) of the lid portion 61. The through hole 67 is a round hole and is provided on the axis of the male terminal 20. The through-hole 67 can be inserted through a shaft portion 71 of a handle member 70 described later. The diameter of the through hole 67 is increased on the rear surface side of the lid portion 61 to form a receiving portion 67A, and a contact portion 75 described later contacts the receiving portion 67A. Further, a groove 69 is provided in the thick portion 65 so as to connect the through hole 67 and the through hole 67. A handle portion 73 which will be described later can be accommodated in the groove portion 69.

  The handle member 70 is used when the cover member 60 is removed from the connector housing 40. By grasping the handle member 70 and pulling it forward, the lid 61 is removed from the opening 45, and the opening 45 of the connector housing 40 is exposed. To do. As shown in FIG. 1, the handle member 70 includes a pair of shaft portions 71 and a handle portion 73 that connects the other end side (front end side) of the shaft portion 71.

  The shaft portion 71 has a round bar shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the outer diameter of the shaft portion 71 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 67. The shaft portion 71 is movable in the penetrating direction (front-rear direction) while penetrating the lid portion 61. One end side (rear end side) of the shaft portion 71 is disposed on the rear side of the lid portion 61, and one end side of the shaft portion 71 is enlarged in diameter to form a disc-shaped contact portion 75. The outer diameter dimension of the contact portion 75 is larger than the inner diameter dimension of the through hole 67 and is the same as or slightly smaller than the inner diameter dimension of the receiving portion 67A. The rear end surface of the contact portion 75 is positioned in contact with the front end surface of the insulating cap 30. On the other hand, the front end surface of the abutting portion 75 abuts on the receiving portion 67A when the handle member 70 is pulled forward, so that the abutting portion 75 prevents the shaft portion 71 from coming off from the lid portion 61. . Further, when the cover member 60 is attached to the connector housing 40, the contact portion 75 is sandwiched between the front end surface of the insulating cap 30 and the receiving portion 67A.

  3 and 4, in the shaft portion 71, the handle portion 73 projects forward from the surface of the thick portion 65 in a state where the front end surface of the contact portion 75 is in contact with the receiving portion 67A. It has dimensions in the front-rear direction to the extent that Further, the shaft portion 71 has dimensions in the front-rear direction such that the contact portion 75 contacts the front end surface of the terminal connection portion 23 of the male terminal 20 in a state where the insulating cap 30 is detached from the terminal body 21. .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the handle portion 73 connects the other ends of the pair of shaft portions 71 and has a round bar shape. The handle portion 73 has vertical and width dimensions that can be accommodated in the groove 69. Further, the shaft portion 71 is prevented from coming off from the lid portion 61 by being connected by the handle portion 73. In a state where the shaft portion 71 is in the front end position (a state where the insulating cap 30 is fitted to the terminal body 21), the handle portion 73 protrudes forward of the lid portion 61 so as to be graspable. On the other hand, in a state where the shaft portion 71 is at the rear end position (a state where the insulating cap 30 is detached from the terminal main body 21), the handle portion 73 is accommodated in the groove portion 69. Further, when the shaft portion 71 is at the rear end position, the front end position of the handle portion 73 is the same as the position of the surface (front end surface) of the thick portion 65.

Next, the operation of the quick charging connector 15 of this embodiment will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, a state in which the cover member 60 is attached to the connector housing 40 in a state where the insulating cap 30 is fitted to the terminal body 21 will be described. Since the connector housing 40 is attached in a posture in which the rear side is lowered with respect to the body of the automobile, the shaft portion 71 tends to be lowered rearward by the weight of the handle member 70. However, since the contact portion 75 provided at the rear end of the shaft portion 71 contacts the front end surface of the insulating cap 30, the shaft portion 71 cannot be lowered rearward. Therefore, the handle portion 73 projects forward from the front end surface of the lid portion 61 and can be gripped. Then, by gripping the handle portion 73 and pulling it forward, the front end surface of the contact portion 75 contacts the receiving portion 67A of the lid portion 61, and the cover member 60 can be removed from the connector housing 40.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, a state where the cover member 60 is attached to the connector housing 40 in a state where the insulating cap 30 is detached from the terminal body 21 will be described. Due to the weight of the handle member 70, the shaft portion 71 is lowered rearward and the insulating cap 30 is not provided, so that the contact portion 75 contacts the front end surface 23 </ b> A of the terminal connection portion 23. At the same time, the handle portion 73 moves together with the shaft portion 71 to a position where the rear end of the handle portion 73 contacts the groove portion 69 of the lid portion 61. And since the front-end position of the handle part 73 becomes the same as the position of the surface (front-end surface) of the thick part 65, it is set as the state which cannot be hold | gripped. Therefore, the cover member 60 cannot be easily removed from the connector housing 40, and the terminal body 21 (terminal connection portion 23) from which the insulating cap 30 has been removed is not inadvertently touched.

  In this manner, the handle member 70 is assembled to the lid portion 61 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, so that the positions of the shaft portion 71 and the handle portion 73 are moved depending on the presence or absence of the insulating cap 30. Therefore, when the insulating cap 30 is fitted to the terminal body 21, the contact portion 75 contacts the tip (front end surface) of the insulating cap 30, the shaft portion 71 is held at the normal position, and the handle portion 73 is the lid portion. It protrudes forward from 61 so that it can be gripped. On the other hand, when the insulating cap 30 is detached from the terminal main body 21, the shaft portion 71 moves to the male terminal 20 side (rear side) from the normal position, and the contact portion 75 is the tip end surface 23 </ b> A of the terminal connection portion 23. Is held in contact with. At this time, the handle portion 73 is accommodated in the groove portion 69, and the handle portion 73 cannot be gripped. Further, even if the male terminal 20 is covered with the lid 61, the positions of the handle 73 and the shaft 71 can be visually confirmed. Therefore, the presence or absence of the insulating cap 30 can be determined with the lid 61 attached. Can be confirmed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the shaft portion 71 of the handle member 70 is provided so as to penetrate the lid portion 61 and be movable in the penetration direction (front-rear direction). Therefore, in a state where the insulating cap 30 is attached, the contact portion 75 provided at one end (rear end) of the shaft portion 71 contacts the insulating cap 30 and the other end (front end) is outside the lid portion 61. Is visible. On the other hand, when the insulating cap 30 is detached, the shaft portion 71 moves to the terminal side, and the other end of the shaft portion 71 and the handle portion 73 are located closer to the male terminal 20 than the normal position. It can be confirmed that the insulating cap 30 is also removed from the outside of 61.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the above description and drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope.
(1) In the above embodiment, the two shaft portions 71 are connected by the handle portion 73 to form the handle member 70. However, only one shaft portion may be used independently without being connected.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the groove 69 is provided, but the groove 69 may not be provided. The groove 69 may not have a depth (a dimension in the front-rear direction) that can accommodate the handle 73.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the contact portion 75 is provided at the rear end of the shaft portion 71, but it may not be provided.

  (4) In the above embodiment, when the insulating cap 30 is attached, the front end of the shaft portion 71 protrudes forward from the front surface of the lid portion 61, but when the insulating cap 30 is attached, the shaft portion 71. The front end may be flush with the lid 61, and in a state where the insulating cap 30 is removed, it may be recessed toward the back side.

  (5) In the said embodiment, although the male terminal 20 was made into a pair, three or more may be sufficient and one may be sufficient. In this case, the shaft portion 71 may be provided for each male terminal 20 or may be provided only for a part.

15 ... Connector for quick charging (connector)
20 ... Male terminal 30 ... Insulation cap (cap)
31 ... Cap body part 33 ... Press fit part 40 ... Connector housing 41 ... Terminal housing part 43 ... Hood part 45 ... Opening part 60 ... Cover member 61 ... Cover part 63 ... Insertion part 67 ... Through hole 67A ... Receiving part 69 ... Groove part 70: Handle member (cap check member)
71 ... Shaft part 73 ... Handle part 75 ... Abutting part

Claims (2)

A male terminal with an insulating cap attached to the tip;
A connector housing that houses the male terminal and has an opening provided on the distal end side of the male terminal;
A lid that covers the opening of the connector housing;
It is provided so as to be movable in the penetrating direction while penetrating the lid, and in a state where the cap is attached, one end of the cap abuts against the tip of the cap and is held in a normal position while the other end is the lid. A connector provided with a cap check member that is visible from the outside and is held closer to the terminal side than the normal position when the cap is removed. The connector housing contains a plurality of the male terminals,
The cap check member is provided for each of the plurality of male terminals, is movable in the penetrating direction of the lid portion, and is secured to the lid portion, and the other end side of the plurality of shaft portions. And a handle portion for connecting the
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the handle portion cannot be gripped when the cap is removed.

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