JP2019204576A - Female connector and battery pack including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To circumvent corrosion of a female terminal constituting a female connector.SOLUTION: Female terminals 34a-34g constituting a battery side connector 30 as a female connector include a first terminal part 56a and a second terminal part 56b for clamping male terminals 64a-64g, respectively. The first terminal part 56a has a first pressing part 62a for directing the male terminals 64a-64g toward the second terminal part 56b and pressing, while the second terminal part 56b has a second pressing part 62b for directing the male terminals 64a-64g toward the first terminal part 56a and pressing. The first and second pressing parts 62a, 62b are provided to incline for the direction of travel of the male terminals 64a-64g, when inserting the male terminals 64a-64g.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a female connector having a first terminal portion and a second terminal portion for holding a male terminal, and a battery pack including the female connector.

  As described in Patent Document 1, a battery pack is generally configured by accommodating a battery core pack holding a plurality of single cells in a hollow interior of a housing. The battery pack has a battery-side connector, and the battery-side connector is electrically connected to a load-side connector of an external load (for example, a motor or the like). An external load is operated by supplying electric power from the battery side connector via the load side connector. Of course, at this time, the single cell is in a discharged state.

  The single cell is made of, for example, a lithium secondary battery, and is charged when the capacity is reduced to a certain level by discharging. That is, after the battery side connector is detached from the load side connector, it is electrically connected to the charging connector of the charging device. When the electric power is supplied from the charging connector via the battery side connector, the capacity of each single cell is recovered, and the battery pack is in a rechargeable state.

  A battery-side connector described in Patent Document 2 is known. The battery-side connector has a shape having an open end and a closed end by bending the conductive member into a substantially U shape or a substantially Y shape so that the vicinity of the open end is close to each other. It consists of a molded female connector having so-called female terminals. On the other hand, the load side connector of the external load (power tool in Patent Document 2) is a male connector having a substantially flat male terminal, and when electrically connected to the battery side connector, the male terminal is a female connector. It enters into the internal space on the closed end side, that is, the inner clearance through the open end of the type terminal. At this time, parts close to each other in the vicinity of the opening (hereinafter also referred to as “pressing part”) are in contact with the male terminal.

JP2013-164969A (see especially paragraph [0043]) JP 2008-66148 A (refer in particular to paragraphs [0035] and [0036], FIGS. 5 to 8)

  In the battery pack, the battery side connector may be disposed on the bottom surface. In this case, the load-side connector or the charging connector is provided in a pack housing portion that houses at least the vicinity of the bottom surface of the battery pack. Here, when the battery pack drives a motor mounted on an electric vehicle such as an electrically assisted bicycle or an electric motorcycle, it is common that the pack storage portion opens upward. For this reason, it is assumed that water and rain water at the time of car washing enter the pack storage part, or foreign matter adheres to the male terminal. When such a situation occurs, when the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, there is a concern that water or foreign matter may be pushed into the inner clearance of the female terminal.

  Water and foreign matter are dammed up by pressing parts close to each other when the male terminal is pulled out of the female terminal. That is, water and foreign matter are left in the inner clearance of the female terminal. When such a state is continued for a long period of time, the female terminal can be corroded.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a female connector in which it is difficult for water and foreign matter to remain inside the female terminal, and a battery pack including the female connector.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a female connector including a female terminal into which a male terminal is inserted to transmit power or a signal to and from the male terminal,
The female terminal includes a first terminal portion and a second terminal portion that sandwich the male terminal,
The first terminal portion has a first pressing portion that presses the male terminal toward the second terminal portion,
The second terminal portion has a second pressing portion that presses the male terminal toward the first terminal portion,
A female connector is provided in which the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion are inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted.

  Moreover, according to another one aspect | mode which concerns on this invention, a battery pack provided with said female connector is provided.

  According to the present invention, the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion that press and hold the male terminal of the female terminal are inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted. It is provided to do. For this reason, even when water or foreign matter is pushed into the inner clearance of the female terminal, the water or foreign matter slides along the inclined first pressing portion and second pressing portion, and from the inner clearance. Discharged.

  That is, it is avoided that water and foreign matters remain in the inner clearance. For this reason, it can avoid that a female terminal corrodes.

1A and 1B are a schematic overall perspective view from one direction of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a schematic overall perspective view from another direction. It is a principal part exploded view which shows the battery side connector (female connector) provided in the battery pack of FIG. 1, and the load side connector (male connector) provided in the external load side. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which connected the battery side connector and load side connector of FIG. It is a principal part schematic front view of the female terminal which comprises the battery side connector of FIG. It is a V-line arrow line view in FIG. FIG. 6 is a view taken along line VI in FIG. 4. It is a principal part schematic front view which shows the state by which water was pushed in to the inward clearance of the female terminal when the battery side connector and the load side connector were connected. It is a principal part side view which shows the state from which water is discharged | emitted from an inner clearance. It is a schematic perspective view of the female terminal in which the slit was formed. It is a principal part schematic front view of the female terminal which concerns on another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the female connector according to the present invention will be described in detail in relation to a battery pack including the female connector, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1A and 1B are a schematic overall perspective view from one direction of the battery pack 10 according to the present embodiment and a schematic overall perspective view from another direction, respectively. In this case, the battery pack 10 has a housing 12 having a vertically long, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and when the housing 12 is viewed in plan, the shape thereof is substantially square or substantially rectangular.

  A battery core pack holding a plurality of single cells is housed inside the housing 12. The single cell is made of, for example, a lithium secondary battery, and after the capacity (storage amount) is reduced by supplying power to an external load, the capacity is restored by receiving power from the charging device. Is possible. In other words, the single cell can be repeatedly charged and discharged. Such a configuration of the battery pack 10 is well known, and therefore detailed description and illustration thereof are omitted.

  On the upper surface of the housing 12, an arch portion 14 having an arch shape formed by bending both end portions in the longitudinal direction and continuing to the upper surface, and a tab-shaped protrusion portion 16 having an upper edge curved in an arc shape face each other. It is provided as follows. Further, a bar-shaped gripping portion 18 is bridged from the upper end of the arch portion 14 to the upper end of the tab-shaped protruding portion 16. Here, since both the upper ends of the arch portion 14 and the tab-like protruding portion 16 protrude from the upper surface of the housing 12, the bar-shaped gripping portion 18 is separated from the upper surface of the housing 12. Accordingly, a gripping clearance 20 is formed between the bar-shaped gripping portion 18 and the upper surface of the housing 12. The user can grip the bar-shaped grip portion 18 by inserting a hand (finger) into the grip clearance 20.

  A battery-side connector 30 is provided on the bottom surface of the housing 12 on the side where the arch portion 14 is provided. The battery side connector 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIGS. 2 and 3 are an exploded view and a longitudinal sectional view of main parts of the battery side connector 30 and the load side connector 32, respectively. The battery-side connector 30 includes a pedestal 33 and seven female terminals 34 a to 34 g (see FIG. 3) supported by the pedestal 33. The pedestal 33 is an insulator made of, for example, an insulating resin, and the female terminals 34a to 34g are good conductors made of, for example, a metal such as copper.

  The pedestal 33 is formed with seven receiving holes 36 extending from the lower surface along the vertical direction. The accommodation holes 36 are linearly arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the pedestal 33 (in this case, the horizontal direction parallel to the arch portion 14). Further, a cover member 38 is attached to the lower surface of the pedestal 33 via two connecting pins 40 extending from the accommodation hole 36 located at one end to the accommodation hole 36 located at the other end. The cover member 38 is formed with an insertion port 42 that is continuous with each of the accommodation holes 36 and has a substantially rectangular shape.

  Further, two guide holes 44 formed at positions sandwiching the seven accommodation holes 36 are opened on the lower surface of the pedestal 33. As will be described later, the battery pack 10 is positioned and fixed as the positioning pins 46 are inserted into the guide holes 44.

  A plurality of tab portions 50 each having a screw insertion hole 48 are provided on the side surface of the pedestal 33 so as to protrude. A screw (not shown) for attaching the base 33 to the housing 12 is passed through the screw insertion hole 48.

  A solid terminal support 52 is provided on the upper portion of the accommodation hole 36. The female terminals 34a to 34g have a substantially flat plate-shaped terminal part 54, and a first terminal part 56a and a second terminal part 56b bifurcated from the plate-type terminal part 54, and are substantially Y-shaped. Make a shape. In the female terminals 34 b to 34 f, the first terminal portion 56 a and the second terminal portion 56 b are accommodated in the accommodation hole 36, and the vicinity of the branch point is embedded in the terminal support portion 52 and the plate-type terminal portion 54. Protrudes from the terminal support 52. The protruding plate-type terminal portion 54 serves as an electrical contact with a single cell in the housing 12.

  On the other hand, in the female terminals 34 a and 34 g, the first terminal portion 56 a and the second terminal portion 56 b are accommodated in the accommodation hole 36, and the entire plate-type terminal portion 54 is embedded in the terminal support portion 52. The electrical contacts of the female terminals 34 a and 34 g with the single cell are provided on the side surface of the pedestal 33. Female terminals 34a and 34g are power transmission terminals for transmitting power between a single cell and an external load or charging device, and female terminals 34b to 34f are signal transmission terminals for transmitting signals. is there.

  Since the longitudinal direction of the housing 12 of the battery pack 10 extends along the gravity direction, the long first terminal portion 56 a and the second terminal portion 56 b of the female terminals 34 a to 34 g extend from the longitudinal direction to the longitudinal direction. Become. The first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b once approach each other toward the lower end side, and then move away from each other. An opening end 60 is formed between the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b due to the separation of the lowermost end. Further, the portion of the first terminal portion 56a that is closest to the second terminal portion 56b is the first pressing portion 62a, and the portion of the second terminal portion 56b that is closest to the first terminal portion 56a is the second pressing portion 62b. is there. The 1st press part 62a and the 2nd press part 62b press each of the male terminal 64a-64g which comprises the load side connector 32 so that it may mention later.

  The first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b are thin and therefore elastic. That is, when the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b are released from a force that increases the separation distance of the opening end portion 60 (increases the opening degree), they approach each other due to elasticity. In other words, the opening end 60 attempts to return to the original opening.

  In this case, an inner clearance 66 is formed by the first terminal portion 56 a, the second terminal portion 56 b, and the ceiling surface of the accommodation hole 36. A terminal constituting the load side connector 32 of an external load (or a charging connector of the charging device) is inserted into the inner clearance 66. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the load-side connector 32 and the charging connector are male connectors having male terminals 64 a to 64 g. The configuration of the load side connector 32 will be described later.

  When the male terminals 64a to 64g are inserted into the inner clearance 66, the first pressing part 62a and the second pressing part 62b constituting the female terminals 34a to 34g press the male terminals 64a to 64g. By this pressing, the male terminals 64a to 64g are held between the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b.

  Here, as shown in detail in FIGS. 4 to 6, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are inserted in the insertion direction in which the male terminals 64a to 64g are inserted, that is, the first pressing portion 62a and the first pressing portion 62b. 2 It inclines with respect to the longitudinal direction of the press part 62b. For example, the first pressing portion 62a descends from the arch portion 14 toward the tab-shaped protrusion 16. The inclination angle θ1 of the first pressing portion 62a with respect to the horizontal direction is such that water and foreign matter can slide along the first pressing portion 62a, for example, 5 ° to 45 °, more preferably 10 ° to 40 °. Can be set to

  On the contrary, the second pressing portion 62b rises from the arch portion 14 toward the tab-like protrusion 16. That is, the inclination direction of the second pressing portion 62b is opposite to the inclination direction of the first pressing portion 62a. The inclination angle θ2 of the first pressing portion 62a with respect to the horizontal direction can also be set within a range of 5 ° to 45 °, more preferably 10 ° to 40 °, similarly to θ1, but θ1 and θ2 are not necessarily the same. It is not necessary to set.

  A power line (not shown) is electrically connected to the plate-type terminal portions 54 of the female terminals 34a and 34g. Further, a signal transmission line (not shown) is electrically connected to the plate type terminal portions 54 of the female terminals 34b to 34f.

  The battery pack 10 is mounted on a vehicle body such as an electrically assisted bicycle or an electric motorcycle, and functions as a power supply source that energizes a motor as an external load. A storage hole for storing the battery pack 10 is formed in these vehicle bodies. A load side connector 32 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is provided at the bottom of the storage hole.

  A storage hole is also formed in the charging device for recovering the capacity when the capacity of the single cell constituting the battery pack 10 is reduced, and the same shape as the load side connector 32 is formed at the bottom of the storage hole. A charging connector is provided.

  As described above, the load-side connector 32 (and the charging connector) is a male connector, and includes a support base 70 and seven male terminals 64a to 64g having a substantially flat plate shape supported by the support base 70. . The support base 70 is an insulator made of an insulating resin or the like, like the base 33, and the male terminals 64a to 64g are good conductors made of a metal such as copper.

  In the seven male terminals 64a to 64g, both ends in the longitudinal direction along the vertical direction protrude from the support base 70. A power line is electrically connected to the lower ends of the male terminals 64a and 64g, and a signal transmission line is electrically connected to the lower ends of the male terminals 64b to 64f. Note that the longitudinal intermediate portions of the male terminals 64 a to 64 g are surrounded by a terminal surrounding portion 72 provided on the support base 70.

  A pin support portion 74 that extends toward the battery-side connector 30 is provided on the upper surface of the support base 70. A positioning pin 46 is erected at a position of the pin support portion 74 corresponding to the guide hole 44. That is, the positioning pins 46 are provided so as to sandwich the male terminals 64a to 64g between each other.

  Next, the effect of the battery pack 10 provided with the battery side connector 30 (female connector) according to the present embodiment will be described.

  The storage hole for storing the battery pack 10 is provided such that the longitudinal direction is the same as the vertical direction or is slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction in order to facilitate storage or removal of the battery pack 10 by the user. Accordingly, the storage hole opens in a state where it faces vertically upward or is slightly inclined from vertically upward. For this reason, it is assumed that water, rainwater, foreign matter, or the like during car washing enters the storage hole from the opening and adheres to the male terminals 64 a to 64 g of the load side connector 32.

  When the battery pack 10 is stored in the storage hole, the positioning pin 46 starts to enter the guide hole 44. Thereafter, the positioning pins 46 are guided into the guide holes 44, whereby the load side connector 32 and the battery side connector 30 are aligned. Further, when the positioning pin 46 is inserted to a predetermined depth of the guide hole 44, the battery pack 10 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position in the storage hole.

  Simultaneously with the guiding of the positioning pin 46 by the guide hole 44, the male terminals 64 a to 64 g are inserted into the insertion port 42 of the cover member 38 and the receiving hole 36 of the base 33, and further, the female terminal 34 a of the battery side connector 30. It is inserted between the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b from the opening end portion 60 of ~ 34g. At the time of insertion, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are slightly opened in a direction away from each other. Since the inclination direction of the 1st press part 62a and the inclination direction of the 2nd press part 62b are opposite at this time, the insertion load with respect to the 1st press part 62a and the 2nd press part 62b is disperse | distributed. That is, since the bias of the insertion load is eliminated, the insertion load applied to the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b is reduced. As a result, the male terminals 64a to 64g are smoothly inserted between the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b.

  The first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b opened with the insertion of the male terminals 64a to 64g tend to return to the original opening degree due to elasticity. As a result, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b press the male terminals 64a to 64g. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the male terminals 64a to 64g are sandwiched between the first pressing part 62a and the second pressing part 62b, whereby the electrical contacts of the male terminals 64a to 64g and the female terminals 34a to 34g. Is formed. When the water W adheres to the male terminals 64a to 64g, the water W passes through the opening end portion 60 together with the male terminals 64a to 64g, as shown in FIG. The second pressing portion 62b is pushed into the inner clearance 66 between the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b. In FIG. 7, a female terminal 34a and a male terminal 64a are illustrated.

  In the present embodiment, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the male terminals 64a to 64g (longitudinal direction of the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b). Yes. In this configuration, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are first in relation to the male terminals 64a to 64g as compared with the configuration in which the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b extend in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the male terminals 64a to 64g. The contact area of the pressing part 62a and the second pressing part 62b, in other words, the area of the electrical contact becomes large. In addition, since the contact resistance between the male terminals 64a to 64g and the female terminals 34a to 34g is reduced, an increase in temperature due to the transmission of power and signals is suppressed. For these reasons, power or signals are stably transmitted between the male terminals 64a to 64g and the female terminals 34a to 34g.

  The capacity of the single cell constituting the battery pack 10 decreases as power is supplied to an external load such as a motor. When the capacity falls below a certain threshold value, power cannot be supplied, and it is necessary to charge a single cell. For this purpose, the battery pack 10 is taken out from the storage hole. That is, the user grips and pulls up the bar-shaped grip portion 18 of the housing 12. Accordingly, the male terminals 64a to 64g are detached from the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b constituting the female terminals 34a to 34g.

  When the male terminals 64a to 64g are detached from between the first pressing part 62a and the second pressing part 62b, the first pressing part 62a and the second pressing part 62b are displaced so as to be closer. That is, the space between the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b is narrow. For this reason, it is difficult for the water W to advance from between the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the male terminals 64a to 64g, that is, the vertical direction. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the water W is guided by the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b under the action of gravity, and is formed between the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b (inward clearance). 66) to the receiving hole 36. The water W is further discharged to the outside of the accommodation hole 36 through the insertion port 42.

  Thus, in this Embodiment, the 1st press part 62a and the 2nd press part 62b are made to incline with respect to the insertion direction of the male type terminals 64a-64g. For this reason, the water W of the inner clearance 66 defined by the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b is guided by the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b, and outward of the battery side connector 30. Easily discharged. That is, it is difficult for the water W to remain in the inner clearance 66. For this reason, it can avoid as much as possible that female terminal 34a-34g corrodes.

  The inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b may be set according to the friction coefficient between the water W and the surface of the first pressing portion 62a or the second pressing portion 62b. For example, when the friction coefficient is 0.2, the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 are set to about 12 ° or more, and when the friction coefficient is 0.6, the water W is moved to the first pressing portion 62a or the second pressure by setting about 31 ° or more. 2 The fluid easily flows along the pressing portion 62b.

  Further, at least one of the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b, preferably both penetrates along the thickness direction of the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b as shown in FIG. A slit 80 may be formed. The extending direction of the slit 80 can be, for example, the longitudinal direction of the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b, in other words, the insertion direction of the male terminals 64a to 64g.

  In this case, the water W in the inner clearance 66 not only flows along the inclined first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b, but also passes through the slit 80 to the outside of the inner clearance 66. Discharged. That is, by forming the slit 80, it is possible to avoid the water W remaining in the inner clearance 66. As a result, the female terminals 34a to 34g are more effectively avoided from corroding.

  In the above description, the water W that is a liquid is described as an example. Similarly, even if a foreign object is a solid, the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b are set appropriately. Or by forming the slits 80, foreign matters can be easily removed from the inner clearance 66. Further, when the battery side connector 30 is connected to the charging connector and then detached, the water W and foreign matter adhering to the male terminals 64a to 64g of the charging connector remain in the battery side connector 30 in the same manner as described above. Is avoided.

  The present invention is not particularly limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the female terminal is not particularly limited to the female terminals 34a to 34g made of a single member in which the first terminal portion 56a and the second terminal portion 56b are branched from one plate-type terminal portion 54. The first terminal member and the second terminal member which are separate members may be connected to each other.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10, it is good also as the inclination direction of the 1st press part 62a and the 2nd press part 62b being the same.

  Further, after the male terminals 64a to 64g are detached from the inner clearance 66, the first pressing portion 62a and the second pressing portion 62b may be in contact with each other or may be separated from each other.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Battery pack 12 ... Housing 30 ... Battery side connector 32 ... Load side connectors 34a-34g ... Female terminal 36 ... Housing hole 42 ... Insertion port 44 ... Guide hole 46 ... Positioning pin 54 ... Plate type terminal part 56a ... First 1 terminal part 56b ... 2nd terminal part 60 ... opening edge part 62a ... 1st press site | part 62b ... 2nd press site | part 64a-64g ... male terminal 66 ... inward clearance 74 ... pin support part 80 ... slit W ... water

Claims (6)

A female connector including a female terminal into which a male terminal is inserted to transmit power or a signal to and from the male terminal;
The female terminal includes a first terminal portion and a second terminal portion that sandwich the male terminal,
The first terminal portion has a first pressing portion that presses the male terminal toward the second terminal portion,
The second terminal portion has a second pressing portion that presses the male terminal toward the first terminal portion,
The female connector in which the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion are inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted.   The female connector according to claim 1, wherein an inclination direction of the first pressing portion and an inclination direction of the second pressing portion are opposite to each other.   3. The female connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion is a slit penetrating along the thickness direction of the first terminal portion and the second terminal portion. A female connector is formed.   4. The female connector according to claim 1, wherein longitudinal directions of the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion coincide with the traveling direction of the male terminal.   5. The female connector according to claim 4, wherein longitudinal directions of the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion coincide with a vertical direction.   A battery pack provided with the female connector as described in any one of Claims 1-5.

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