JP2020035668A - Guide manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent the surface of a terminal from being shaved by a filler included in a guide.SOLUTION: The present specification discloses a guide manufacturing method of guiding a terminal to be inserted into a connector. This manufacturing method includes a step of molding a resin containing a filler by using a mold, and the molding surface of the mold has an uneven shape, and each recess has a size and shape that prohibits the filler from contacting the bottom of the recess.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a method for manufacturing a guide for guiding a terminal inserted into a connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art In various electric devices, a structure is adopted in which a terminal inserted into a connector is guided by a guide. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor device having such a guide. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor module having terminals, a connector into which the terminals are inserted, and a guide for guiding the terminals to be inserted into the connectors to the connector.

JP 2014-236191 A

  In the semiconductor device having the above-described guide, the terminal inserted into the connector is guided to the connector while contacting the guide. Such a guide is made of resin. Further, the resin generally contains a filler for improving the heat resistance and the like of the guide. As the filler, a material having excellent rigidity, such as glass fiber, is employed. On the other hand, since the filler having such properties is hard, the surface of the terminal may be scraped by the filler exposed on the surface of the guide when the terminal slides on the guide. Since the terminal has conductivity, the shavings also have conductivity. When a conductive foreign substance is generated, the foreign substance may adhere to the semiconductor device and short-circuit the electronic device located therearound. Therefore, the present specification provides a technique for suppressing the surface of the terminal from being shaved by the filler contained in the guide.

  The present specification discloses a method for manufacturing a guide for guiding a terminal inserted into a connector. This manufacturing method includes a step of molding a resin containing a filler with a mold, and the molding surface of the mold has an uneven shape, and each recess has a size that prohibits the filler from contacting the bottom of the recess. And have a shape.

  In the above-described manufacturing method, since the molding surface of the mold has an irregular shape, when the resin is molded by the mold, the irregular shape is also formed on the surface of the molded guide. Here, each recess provided in the mold is relatively small, and specifically, has a size and shape that prohibits the filler from contacting the bottom of the recess. Therefore, when the resin is molded by the mold, the filler contained in the resin does not contact the bottom of the concave portion provided in the mold. Thus, it is possible to prevent the filler from being exposed from the top of the uneven shape on the surface of the formed guide. With such a guide, even if the terminal slides with respect to the guide, the terminal does not contact the filler in the guide. It is possible to prevent the surface of the terminal from being shaved by the filler.

Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the electric power control apparatus 100 using the guide 26. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the electric power control apparatus 100 using the guide 26. The enlarged view in the III section of FIG. The figure which shows the internal structure of the guide 26. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4. The figure which shows the metal mold | die 30 which shape | molds resin. The figure which shows the aspect which shape | molds resin in the metal mold | die 30. The figure which shows other embodiment of the uneven | corrugated shape 26b provided in the guide 26. The figure which shows the modification of the guide 26.

  The guide 26 and its manufacturing method will be described with reference to the drawings. The guide 26 guides a terminal inserted into the connector to the connector. Such a guide 26 is employed for inserting a terminal into a connector in various electric devices. Here, the power control device 100 is illustrated as an example of adopting the guide 26 described above. The power control device 100 is mounted on an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and the like. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the power control device 100 mainly includes a semiconductor module unit 10, a large-capacity capacitor 12, a reactor 14, and a control board 16.

  The semiconductor module unit 10 includes a plurality of semiconductor modules 20 and a plurality of coolers 22. The semiconductor modules 20 and the coolers 22 are arranged alternately. The semiconductor module 20 contains a power semiconductor element (not shown). The power semiconductor element is, for example, a diode, a MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor), or an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor). The semiconductor module 20 has a plurality of signal terminals 28. Each signal terminal 28 extends vertically from the upper surface 20 a of the semiconductor module 20 toward the control board 16. Each signal terminal 28 has a generally elongated plate shape, and has two main surfaces located on the front and back, and two side surfaces adjacent to the two main surfaces. The signal terminal 28 is made of a conductive material such as copper, aluminum, or another metal.

  The control board 16 has a generally plate shape and is made of, for example, an insulating material such as glass epoxy or ceramic. The control board 16 includes a controller having a built-in CPU and memory, and controls the operation of a power semiconductor element built in each semiconductor module 20. The control board 16 is provided with a plurality of through holes 16a, and a connector 24 and a guide 26 are provided in each of the through holes 16a. A signal terminal 28 of the corresponding semiconductor module 20 is inserted into each connector 24, whereby each semiconductor module 20 is electrically connected to the control board 16. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 16a is not particularly limited, but has a rectangular shape or a circular shape. The through hole 16a is formed to be larger than the outer peripheral edge of the cross section of the signal terminal 28.

  The connector 24 has a generally cylindrical shape, and receives the signal terminal 28 that has passed through the through hole 16 a of the control board 16. The connector 24 is made of, for example, an insulating material such as a resin. The connector 24 has a portion located below the control board 16 (hereinafter, referred to as a lower portion) and a portion located above the control board 16 (hereinafter, referred to as an upper portion). An insertion port 24 a into which the signal terminal 28 is inserted is provided in a lower portion of the connector 24. A contact terminal (not shown) that contacts the inserted signal terminal 28 is provided on an upper portion of the connector 24. The semiconductor module 20 and the control board 16 are electrically connected to each other by contact between the signal terminals 28 and the contact terminals inside the connector 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a guide 26 is provided on a lower portion of the connector 24. The guide 26 is located inside the insertion port 24a, and guides the inserted signal terminal 28 to the connector 24 (specifically, a contact terminal in the connector 24). As an example, the guide 26 is configured to surround the inserted signal terminal 28. The guide 26 has a guide surface 26a having a generally tapered shape. The guide surface 26a has a lower portion 26l whose opening area for receiving the signal terminal 28 gradually narrows, and an upper portion 26u having a constant opening area. The signal terminal 28 is guided to the connector 24 while contacting the lower portion 26l of the guide surface 26a to the upper portion 26u. The guide 26 is made of, for example, an insulating material such as a resin. In addition, the insulating material forming the guide 26 contains a filler 26f such as a glass fiber. With the inclusion of the filler 26f, the heat resistance required for the guide 26 at the stage of manufacturing the power control device 100 can be improved. On the other hand, since the filler 26f having such properties is hard, if the filler 26f is exposed on the guide surface 26a when the signal terminal 28 slides with respect to the guide 26, the surface of the signal terminal 28 Is easily cut off.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the guide surface 26a of the guide 26 has an uneven shape 26b. The uneven shape 26 b is provided over the entire guide surface 26 a of the guide 26. In addition, the concavo-convex shape 26b is provided relatively finely, and specifically, the interval between the adjacent tops 26c is smaller than the dimension (diameter) of the filler 26f. Such a configuration is derived from a method of manufacturing the guide 26 described below, and its purpose is to prevent the filler 26f contained in the guide 26 from being exposed to the top 26c of the guide surface 26a. When the signal terminal 28 is inserted into the connector 24, the signal terminal 28 is guided to the connector 24 while being in contact with the guide surface 26a having the uneven shape 26b, particularly the top portion 26c. At this time, if the filler 26f is not exposed at the top 26c of the guide surface 26a, even if the signal terminal 28 slides with respect to the guide 26, the signal terminal 28 does not contact the filler 26f in the guide 26. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the surface of the signal terminal 28 from being shaved by the filler 26f.

  In addition, the uneven shape 26b is constituted by a plurality of generally streak-like grooves formed along the direction in which the signal terminal 28 is inserted into the guide 26. Therefore, when inserted into the guide 26, the signal terminal 28 can be smoothly guided along the groove formed in the guide surface 26a.

  A method of manufacturing the guide 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in a first step, a mold 30 for forming the guide 26 is prepared. The mold 30 has an irregular shape 30b on a molding surface 30a corresponding to the guide surface 26a of the guide 26. The concavo-convex shape 30b is constituted by a plurality of grooves formed in the direction in which the signal terminal 28 is inserted into the guide 26. As an example, the width dimension S1 of the concave portion (groove) of the concave-convex shape 30b may be about 3.5 micrometers. The method of manufacturing the mold 30 is not particularly limited, and can be manufactured by forging, casting, and / or grinding.

  Next, in a second step, the guide 26 is manufactured using the mold 30 prepared in the previous step. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a mold 30 having a molding surface 30a is filled with a melted resin and molded to produce the guide 26. At this time, the irregularities 30b of the mold 30 are transferred to the guide surface 26a of the guide 26, and the irregularities 26b described above are formed. Through the above steps, the guide 26 is completed.

  Here, the resin molded in the second step contains a filler 26f in order to improve the mechanical strength and heat resistance of the guide 26. The dimension (wire diameter) S2 of the filler 26f is about 10 micrometers, which is relatively larger than the width dimension S1 of the concave portion of the concave / convex shape 30b provided in the mold 30. Therefore, the filler 26f does not contact the bottom 30c of the concave portion provided in the mold 30. Therefore, when the guide 26 is manufactured using the above-described mold 30, it is possible to prevent the filler 26f from being exposed from the top 26c of the uneven shape 26b on the guide surface 26a of the guide 26.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the guide surface 26a of the guide 26 has an uneven shape 26b, and the uneven shape 26b is provided over the entire guide surface 26a. However, the present technology is not limited to this mode, and can be applied to other embodiments. As shown in FIG. 8, the uneven shape 26b may be provided only at the boundary 26e between the lower portion 26l and the upper portion 26u of the guide surface 26a. At the boundary portion 26e between the lower portion 26l and the upper portion 26u, since the guide surface 26a is bent in a convex shape, when the signal terminal 28 slides with respect to the guide 26, the signal terminal 28 The pressure applied to the surface tends to increase locally. Therefore, even if only the concavo-convex shape 26b is provided only in such a boundary portion 26e (that is, a bent portion), it is possible to significantly suppress the surface of the signal terminal 28 from being shaved by the filler 26f contained in the guide 26. it can.

  In the case of the above-described embodiment, the range in which the mold 30 is processed in the manufacturing process of the guide surface 26a is reduced. Therefore, the cost required for processing the mold 30 can be reduced.

  Further, the technology in this specification can be applied to the following modified examples. In a guide 126 according to a modified example shown in FIG. 9, the unevenness 126 b of the guide surface 126 a is a grain shape, and a plurality of unevennesses are randomly arranged. In the case of this modified example, a grain-shaped uneven shape can be formed on a mold (not shown) for molding a resin by, for example, etching or sandblasting. Note that the maximum value of the width dimension of the concave portion formed in the mold can be, for example, about 3.5 micrometers. The width of the recess is sufficiently smaller than the size of the filler 26f contained in the resin. Therefore, as in the embodiment, the filler 26f does not contact the bottom of the concave portion provided in the mold. Therefore, even when the guide 126 is manufactured using such a mold, it is possible to prevent the filler 126f from being exposed from the top of the uneven shape 126b on the guide surface 126a of the guide 126. In FIG. 9, the unevenness 126b is formed over the entire guide surface 126a. That is, it may be provided only for the bent portion).

  In the present specification, the guides 26 and 126 have been described as being configured to surround the signal terminal 28, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the guides 26 and 126 face two main surfaces of the signal terminal 28. It may be configured as follows. Alternatively, the guides 26 and 126 may be provided only on one side of the signal terminal 28.

  As described above, some specific examples have been described in detail. However, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and alterations of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings exert technical utility singly or in various combinations.

10: Semiconductor module unit 12: Large capacity capacitor 14: Reactor 16: Control board 16a: Through hole 20: Semiconductor module 22: Cooler 24: Connector 24a: Insertion port 26, 126: Guide 26a, 126a: Guide surface 26b, 126b. : Guide irregularities 26c: Tops 26e, 126e: Boundary portions 26f, 126f: Fillers 26l, 126l: Lower portions 26u, 126u of guide surfaces: Upper portions 28 of guide surfaces 28: Signal terminals 30: Mold 30a: Molding surfaces 30b: concave and convex shape of mold 30c: bottom of concave part of mold 100: power control device

Claims (1)

A method of manufacturing a guide for guiding a terminal inserted into a connector,
Comprising a step of molding a resin containing a filler with a mold,
The molding surface of the mold has an uneven shape, and each recess has a size and shape that prohibits the filler from contacting the bottom of the recess,
Production method.

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