JP2019121417A - Electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce immersion of mud and dust from an insertion port part of a socket connector and between gaps mounted to it.SOLUTION: An electric connector 10 comprises: a socket connector 12 having a pair of socket contacts arranged so as to be exposed to a housing 32 that divides an insertion hole 32h and in which a cylindrical insertion port part 17 is formed as an inlet of them an insertion hole 32h in the housing 32; a rod-like plug contact 20 which can be inserted and extracted into/from the insertion hole 32h and can be rotated between a non-lock position and a lock position around the circumference of an axial center, and electrically communicates a pair of socket contacts at the rock position and connects an electric circuit; and a plug connector 14 that holds the plug contact 20 in a drooping state, and includes a cap 22 detachably mounted to the insertion port part 17 of the housing 32. An outer peripheral wall 24 surrounding the insertion port part 17 in a mounting state to the insertion port part 17 is formed in the cap 22, and a seal member 58 is provided between the insertion port part 17 and the outer peripheral wall 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector including a socket connector in which an insertion hole is formed and socket contacts are exposed in the insertion hole, and a plug connector having a plug contact that is inserted in and removed from the insertion hole.

  BACKGROUND Electrical connectors (so-called service plugs) for maintenance are provided in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and the like. Usually, the plug connector is inserted into the socket connector, and in the vehicle, when the maintenance of the electric system is performed, the current from the battery can be cut off by pulling out the plug connector from the socket connector. As such an electrical connector, Patent Document 1 discloses a housing having an insertion hole defined therein, and a cylindrical insertion port portion formed as an inlet, and a pair of socket contacts disposed in the housing so as to be exposed to the insertion hole. An electrical connector comprising: a socket connector having a plug connector; and a plug connector having a rod-like plug contact that can be inserted into and removed from the insertion hole of the socket connector and rotatably disposed between the unlocked position and the locked position around its axis. A connector is disclosed.

  Further, in the electric connector of Patent Document 1, in order to facilitate the operation of the plug connector, a cap is attached to the insertion port of the socket connector, and the plug contact is held in a hanging state by the cap. .

JP 2017-054612 A

  In the electrical connector described in Patent Document 1, the cap can be in contact with the upper end of the insertion opening under the attachment of the socket connector to the insertion opening, but the contact is exposed to the outside. Therefore, mud and dust enter from this contact portion, making it hard to insert and remove the plug connector, and the waterproofness of the O ring which may be provided between the insertion port of the socket connector and the plug connector is impaired. There has been a risk that problems such as unstable connection may occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector capable of solving the problems of the prior art and reducing the intrusion of dirt and dust from between the insertion opening of the socket connector and the cap attached thereto. I assume.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a housing having an insertion hole and a cylindrical insertion port formed as an inlet, and a socket connector having a pair of socket contacts disposed in the housing so as to be exposed to the insertion hole. A rod-like plug which can be inserted into and removed from the hole and which can be rotated between its non-locking position and its locking position around its axis and which electrically connects the pair of socket contacts at the locking position to connect the electric circuit An electrical connector comprising: a contact; and a plug connector for holding the plug contact in a hanging state and having a cap removably mounted on the insertion opening of the housing, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The cap is formed with an outer peripheral wall that surrounds the insertion opening in a state of being attached to the insertion opening, and the insertion opening and the outer circumference are Those comprising a sealing member between the.

  In the electrical connector of the present invention, the seal member is preferably cylindrical.

  Further, in the electrical connector of the present invention, it is preferable that asperities are respectively formed on the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the seal member.

  Furthermore, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, the cap is formed with an inner circumferential wall forming an annular groove with the outer circumferential wall, and a portion of the seal member is inserted into the annular groove. It is preferable that the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall hold and hold.

  In addition, in the electric connector of the present invention, it is preferable that a protrusion for preventing the sealing member from falling off is formed on the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall.

  According to the electrical connector of the present invention, the insertion port portion of the socket connector is surrounded by the outer peripheral wall of the cap, and the seal member is provided between the outer peripheral wall and the insertion port portion. The intrusion of mud and dust from between the cap and the cap is suppressed, and the above-mentioned various problems due to the intrusion of mud and dust can be prevented.

It is a perspective view showing the front side of the electric connector of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the back side of the electrical connector of FIG. It is a rear view of the electrical connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing in alignment with the AA in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the plug connector in the electrical connector of FIG. The sealing member in the electrical connector of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a top view, (c) is sectional drawing in alignment with the BB line in (b). It is sectional drawing in alignment with the CC line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the cap in the electrical connector of other embodiment of this invention in the assembled state of a sealing member.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front side of the electrical connector of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the back side of the electrical connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a back view of the electrical connector, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the electrical connector 10 includes a socket connector 12 and a plug connector 14. Further, on the front side of the electrical connector 10, a fuse 16 for blocking an overcurrent is attached.

  The electrical connector 10 can be applied to a maintenance electrical connector (so-called service plug) such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. In this case, when performing maintenance on the electric system in the vehicle, the electric circuit is interrupted by pulling out the plug connector 14 from the socket connector 12, and the current from the battery (not shown) or the like to the motor (not shown) or the like Can block.

  The electrical connector 10, as shown in FIG. 4, passes through a later-described cylindrical insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12 through an opening Ka formed in the panel K to be attached, and a nut or the like from the outside of the panel K Can be attached to the panel K by screwing the fixing tool 18 on the outer surface of the insertion opening 17. However, the attachment object and the attachment method of the electrical connector 10 are not limited to the illustrated example, and they are attached using screws or the like. It may be fixed to the subject.

  In the following description, the direction in which the plug connector 14 is inserted is downward, and the direction in which the plug connector 14 is withdrawn is upward.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plug connector 14 includes a rod-like plug contact 20 made of a conductive material, and a cap 22 for holding the plug contact 20 in a hanging state via the plug contact holder 21. There is. In the illustrated example, the plug contact holder 21 and the cap 22 are separate bodies, but they may be integrally molded articles. Specifically, in the illustrated example, the cap 22 and the plug contact holder 21 which are separately formed are assembled via a fitting portion such as a gear, but for example, the cap 22 and the plug contact holder 21 It is good also as an integral-molding article integrated by two-step molding. When the cap 22 and the plug contact holder 21 are integrated by two-step molding, the above-mentioned fitting portion may be omitted. The plug contact holder 21 and the cap 22 may be made of an electrically insulating material such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC) or a synthetic material thereof. .

  The cap 22 has a knob 23 serving as a handle when inserting and removing the plug connector 14, an outer peripheral wall 24 extending downward from the knob 23 and surrounding an upper portion of the insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12, and a knob An inner circumferential wall 26 is formed extending downward from a position 23 facing the upper end face of the insertion slot 17 and forming an annular groove 25 with the outer circumferential wall 24.

  The plug contact holder 21 has an opening 21 a that opens downward, and the upper end of the plug contact 20 is inserted and fixed there. An annular recess 21 b is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the plug contact holder 21, and an O-ring 28 made of an elastic material is disposed in the annular recess 21 b. When the plug connector 14 and the socket connector 12 are fitted, the O-ring 28 performs a waterproof function. A pair of protrusions 30 and 31 protruding radially outward are formed above the annular recess 21 b. The pair of protrusions 30 and 31 is disposed at a position 180 degrees out of phase around the axial center Y1 of the plug connector 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the socket connector 12 defines the insertion hole 32 h and is exposed to the insertion hole 32 h in the housing 32 and the housing 32 in which the cylindrical insertion port 17 is formed as an inlet thereof. And a second holder 36 as the other socket contact disposed so as to be exposed to the insertion hole 32 h in the housing 32, and a connection portion 38. .

  The housing 32 is made of an electrically insulating material such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC) or a synthetic material of these, and the first divided body 32A and the second divided body The division body 32B is configured to be fitted and coupled. The housing 32 does not necessarily have to be a divided structure, and may be an integral molding.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical insertion port 17 that protrudes upward through the opening Ka of the panel K is formed in the upper part of the first divided body 32A, and the insertion port 17 has a plug connector A pair of fitting grooves 44 and 45 which can be fitted with the pair of protrusions 30 and 31 formed in the plug contact holder 21 of 14 are formed. The pair of fitting grooves 44, 45 are arranged at a position 180 degrees out of phase around the axis Y2 of the insertion hole 32h. The fitting grooves 44 and 45 are open at the upper end face of the insertion opening 17 and a longitudinal groove extending downward from the center of the insertion hole 32h in the axial center Y2 direction, and connected to the longitudinal groove, around the axial center Y2 of the insertion hole 32h 4 and 5. In FIG. 4, only the lateral groove can be visually recognized. When the plug contacts 20 and the plug contact holder 21 of the plug connector 14 are inserted into the insertion holes 32 h, the protrusions 30 and 31 first move downward along the vertical groove of the fitting groove 44. Then, when the plug connector 14 is rotated approximately 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow I shown in FIG. 1 around the axis Y2 of the insertion hole 32h with the protrusions 30 and 31 positioned at the end of the longitudinal groove, the protrusions 30 and 31 moves to the end of the lateral groove, and the projections 30, 31 are locked in the fitting grooves 44, 45, and the plug connector 14 is retained and held by the socket connector 12.

  The first holder 34 is connected to a positive electrode terminal such as a battery via an electric cord (may be a bus bar) on the primary side (not shown). Most of the first holder 34 is disposed so as to be retained in the housing 32 and a part thereof is exposed on the side surface of the housing 32 for connection with the primary electrical cord. As shown in FIG. 4, a first through hole 48 into which the plug contact 20 is inserted is formed in a portion of the first holder 34 in the housing 32. A cylindrical fin contact 50 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the first through hole 48 and the plug contact 20.

  The second holder 36 is connected to a negative electrode terminal such as a battery via the fuse 16 and a not-shown secondary side electrical cord (which may be a bus bar). Most of the second holder 36 is disposed so as to be retained in the housing 32 and a part thereof is exposed on the front of the housing 32 for connection with one terminal 16 a of the fuse 16. As shown in FIG. 4, a second through hole 54 into which the plug contact 20 is inserted is formed in a portion of the second holder 36 in the housing 32. A cylindrical fin contact 56 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the second through hole 54 and the plug contact 20.

  The connecting portion 38 is, as shown in FIG. 4, arranged in the housing 32 so as to be retained, and a part thereof is connected to the other terminal 16b of the fuse 16 and the terminal of the secondary side electrical cord. Exposed to

  Then, in the electrical connector 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper portion of the insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12 is capped 22 in order to prevent intrusion of mud and dust into the insertion hole 32 h of the socket connector 12. The seal member 58 is provided between the insertion opening 17 and the outer peripheral wall 24 while being covered with the outer peripheral wall 24. The seal member 58 is inserted (preferably press-fitted) from the lower surface side of the cap 22 into the annular groove 25 whose upper portion is partitioned by the outer peripheral wall 24 of the cap 22 and the inner peripheral wall 26. It is held by the peripheral wall 26.

  As the sealing member 58 is shown alone in FIG. 6, the sealing member 58 is cylindrical and made of an elastic material. Examples of the material of the seal member 58 include, but are not limited to, silicone rubber, fluororubber, nitrile rubber, and the like. Asperities are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 58 by providing a plurality of annular groove portions 58a each having a concave surface with a space in the axial center Y3 direction. Asperities are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the seal member 58 by providing a plurality of annular convex portions 58b formed of convex curved surfaces at intervals in the axial center Y3 direction. The annular groove 58a and the annular convex portion 58b may be at least one. Although the seal member 58 is not shown in FIG. 4 to be compressed and deformed for convenience, in actuality, the annular convex portion 58 b is in pressure contact with the inner peripheral wall 26 of the cap 22 and the insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12. It will be crushed by That is, the concave portion corresponding to the annular convex portion 58 b is not formed in the inner circumferential wall 26 of the cap 22 and the insertion opening portion 17 of the socket connector 12. However, a recess corresponding to the annular convex portion 58 b can also be formed in the inner circumferential wall 26 and the insertion port portion 17.

  By the way, the electrical connector 10 may be provided with the detection part 62 which detects the locked state of the plug connector 14 with respect to the socket connector 12, as shown in FIG. The details of the detection unit 62 will be described below. The detection unit 62 is disposed between the insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12 and the second holder 36. The detection unit 62 electrically conducts the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 facing each other with the plug contact holder 21 of the plug connector 14 therebetween and the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 at the lock position of the plug connector 14. A conducting member 68 is provided. The pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 and the conduction member 68 are both held by a detection unit housing 70 formed in the first divided body 32A. That is, the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 and the conducting member 68 are both disposed on the socket connector 12 side.

  An opening 70 a is formed on the back side of the detection unit housing 70. The conduction member 68 is inserted and disposed in the detection unit housing 70 through the opening 70 a.

  The conductive member 68 has a pair of pressed pieces 72 and 73 and a connecting piece 74. The conductive member 68 is formed by punching out a flat plate-like metal plate made of a conductive metal material, whereby the base ends of the pair of pressed pieces 72 and 73 are connected via the connecting piece 74. It is formed in a letter shape.

  The pressed pieces 72 and 73 are respectively disposed between the detection terminals 64 and 65 and the plug contact holder 21.

  On the outer surface of the plug contact holder 21 of the plug connector 14, a pair of proximal surfaces 76 and 77 with a short distance from the axial center Y1 of the plug connector 14 and a distance from the axial center Y1 of the plug connector 14 from the axial center Y1 A pair of distal surfaces 78, 79 are formed which are longer than the distance to the proximal surfaces 76, 77. The pair of proximal surfaces 76 and 77 oppose each other with the axis Y1 interposed therebetween. The pair of distal surfaces 78, 79 face each other across the axis Y1. The distal surfaces 78, 79 are configured as curved surfaces. The distance from the axial center Y1 to the proximal surfaces 76 and 77 is a distance away from the pressed members 72 and 73 when the proximal surfaces 76 and 77 face the pressed members 72 and 73, and is far from the axial center Y1. The distance to the lateral surfaces 78, 79 is such that when the distal surfaces 78, 79 face the pressed pieces 72, 73, the pressed pieces 72, 73 are pressed to contact the contact portions 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b. The distance to be in contact with the detection terminals 64 and 65 is set.

  Two contact portions 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b are provided for each of the pressed pieces 72, 73, whereby stable conduction between the conduction member 68 and the detection terminals 64, 65 can be ensured. . However, the number of contact parts 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b is not limited to this, and may be one or three or more.

  Further, the pressed portions 72, 73 include pressed portions 72c, 73c and contact portions 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b which are pressed by the distal surfaces 78, 79 of the plug connector 14 at the lock position of the plug connector 14. Between the two, extending portions 72e, 72f, 73e, 73f are provided extending along the detection terminals 64, 65 in a direction away from the connecting piece 74. As a result, the pressed pieces 72 and 73 can be elastically deformed to a larger extent, and the stable conductivity between the conducting member 68 and the detection terminals 64 and 65 can be made more reliable. The contact portions 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b are formed toward the detection terminals 64, 65 at the ends of the extension portions 72e, 72f, 73e, 73f.

  The connection piece 74 has a holding portion 74a which is held by, for example, press fitting in a groove 70b formed in the detection unit housing 70 so as to protrude in the insertion direction (front side) of the conduction member 68. The holding portion 74a is formed with a recess 74b which is opened in the insertion direction and is guided by a guide wall 70c which is formed in the groove 70b so as to extend in the opposite insertion direction (back side). Thus, the conductive member 68 can be inserted straight into the detection unit housing 70 under the guidance of the recess 74 b by the guide wall 70 c. The number of holding portions 74a is not limited to one, and two or more may be provided. In addition, claws may be formed on the side surfaces of the holding portion 74a in order to increase the holding power to the groove 70b.

  In order to connect an electric circuit using the electrical connector 10 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 30 and 31 formed on the inner side of the cap 22 of the plug connector 14 are used as insertion ports for the socket connector 12. The plug contacts 20 are inserted into the insertion holes 32 h of the socket connector 12 in such a manner as to match the longitudinal grooves of the fitting grooves 44 and 45 formed in the portion 17. In this state, the proximal surfaces 76 and 77 formed on the plug contact holder 21 of the plug connector 14 face the pressed pieces 72 and 73, and the proximal surfaces 76 and 77 are separated from the pressed pieces 72 and 73. Therefore, it is detected that the conductive member 68 and the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 are electrically nonconductive and the plug connector 14 is in the non-locking state with respect to the socket connector 12. At this time, although the first holder 34 and the second holder 36 are physically conducted via the plug contact 20, the main circuit is electrically disconnected while the detection unit 62 detects the non-locking state. Therefore, the plug connector 14 is prevented from being hot-inserted.

  From this state, when the plug connector 14 is rotated in the direction of arrow I shown in FIG. 1 with respect to the socket connector 12, the protrusions 30, 31 fit into the fitting grooves 44, 45, so the plug connector 14 Locked against In this state, the distal surfaces 78 and 79 of the plug contact holder 21 face the pressed pieces 72 and 73 to elastically deform the pressed pieces 72 and 73 so that the pressed pieces 72 and 73 are expanded. The contact portions 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b contact the detection terminals 64, 65, respectively. As a result, the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 are electrically connected via the conduction member 68, and it is detected that the plug connector 14 is locked with respect to the socket connector 12, and current flows in the main circuit.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper portion of the insertion opening 17 is surrounded by the outer peripheral wall 24 of the cap 22, and the seal member 58 is provided between the outer peripheral wall 24 and the insertion opening 17. The intrusion of mud and dust from between the insertion port 17 of the socket connector 12 and the cap 22 is suppressed, and the above-described various problems due to the intrusion of mud and dust can be prevented.

  Further, in the electrical connector 10 of the present embodiment, since the seal member 58 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the contact length in the direction of the axis Y3 can be increased, and the seal performance can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the electrical connector 10 of the present embodiment, since the irregularities (the annular groove portion 58a and the annular convex portion 58b) are formed on the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the seal member 58, the seal member 58 is easily compressed and deformed. Sealing performance can be improved.

  In addition, in the electric connector 10 according to the present embodiment, the upper portion of the seal member 58 is inserted and held in the annular groove 25 between the outer peripheral wall 24 and the inner peripheral wall 26 of the cap 22. It can be easily and reliably assembled to 22.

  On the other hand, in order to pull out the plug connector 14 from the socket connector 12, the plug connector 14 may be rotated about the axis Y1 in the reverse direction, that is, approximately 90 degrees in the arrow II direction shown in FIG. As a result, the protrusions 30, 31 coincide with the longitudinal grooves of the fitting grooves 44, 45, and the plug connector 14 can be pulled out. At this time, since the pressed pieces 72 and 73 are released from the pressure by the distal surfaces 78 and 79 and elastically return to the original shape, the pair of detection terminals 64 and 65 becomes nonconductive again, and the plug connector 14 An unlocking state is detected with respect to the socket connector 12, and the main circuit is electrically disconnected. Therefore, the situation where the plug connector 14 is disconnected from the hot line is avoided. Furthermore, the main circuit is physically cut off by removing the plug connector 14 from the socket connector 12. Also, the seal member 58 is pulled out together with the cap 22.

  Referring now to FIG. 8, the cap in electrical connector 10 of another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the member or part similar to the member or part demonstrated by previous embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.

  In the electric connector 10 of the present embodiment, a protrusion 60 for preventing the seal member 58 from falling off is formed on the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 24 of the cap 22. In the illustrated example, the projection 60 is intermittently formed in the circumferential direction at a position close to or in contact with the lower end of the seal member 58 of the outer peripheral wall 24, but may be continuously formed in the circumferential direction . By providing such a projection 60, it is possible to more reliably prevent the seal member 58 from falling off particularly when the plug connector 14 is pulled out.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electrical connector which can reduce the penetration | invasion of the mud and dust from between the insertion opening part of a socket connector, and the cap mounted | worn with it can be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 electrical connector 12 socket connector 14 plug connector 16 fuse 17 insertion part 20 plug contact 21 plug contact holder 22 cap 23 knob 24 outer peripheral wall 25 annular groove 26 inner peripheral wall 28 O ring 30, 31 protrusion 32 housing 32 h insertion hole 32A 1st division body 32B 2nd division body 34 1st holder 36 2nd holder 38 connection section 44, 45 fitting groove 58 seal member 62 detection section 64, 65 detection terminal 68 conduction component 70 detection section housing 70a opening 70b groove section 70c Guide wall 72, 73 pressed piece 72a, 72b, 73a, 73b contact portion 72c, 73c pressed portion 72e, 72f, 73e, 73f extended portion 74 connected piece 74a holding portion 74b recessed portion 76, 77 proximal surface 78, 79 Rank Y1, Y2, Y3 axis

Claims (5)

A housing defining an insertion hole and having a cylindrical insertion port as an inlet, and a socket connector having a pair of socket contacts disposed in the housing so as to be exposed to the insertion hole;
A rod that can be inserted into and removed from the insertion hole and can be rotated between an unlocked position and a locked position around its axis, and electrically connects the pair of socket contacts in the locked position to connect an electrical circuit And a plug connector for holding the plug contact in a suspended state and having a cap removably mounted on the insertion opening of the housing,
The cap is formed with an outer peripheral wall surrounding the insertion opening in a state of being attached to the insertion opening,
An electrical connector comprising a seal member between the insertion port and the outer peripheral wall.   The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the seal member is cylindrical.   The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the seal member are each formed with an unevenness. The cap is formed with an inner circumferential wall forming an annular groove between the cap and the outer circumferential wall;
The electrical connector according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a part of the seal member is inserted into the annular groove and sandwiched by the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall.   The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a protrusion for preventing the seal member from falling off is formed on an inner surface of the outer peripheral wall.

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