JP2021168227A - Press-fit terminal holding structure and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a press-fit terminal holding structure and a connector in which a press-fit terminal is hard to come off and is easy to be manufactured.SOLUTION: A press-fit terminal holding structure according to an embodiment includes a press-fit terminal including a band-shaped terminal body, a stopper protruding from the side surface of the terminal body, and a recess formed adjacent to the stopper on the side surface of the terminal body, and a holding member including a through hole into which a portion of the terminal body including the recess is press-fitted, and a plate-shaped wall portion that forms a part of the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of the through hole, contacts the stopper to regulate the press-fitting position of the terminal body, and partially penetrates the recess.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

The present invention relates to a press-fit terminal holding structure and a connector.

Conventionally, a connector including a resin housing and a press-fit terminal press-fitted into a through hole formed in the housing has been used. For this type of connector, it is important that the press-fit terminal does not come out of the housing. As a method of preventing the press-fit terminal from coming off from the housing, a method of devising the shape of the press-fit terminal and the shape of the through hole has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-137975 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-040060

However, the above-mentioned conventional method has a problem that it becomes difficult to manufacture a connector because the shape of the press-fitting terminal and the shape of the through hole become complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a press-fit terminal holding structure and a connector in which the press-fit terminal is hard to come off and is easy to manufacture.

The press-fit terminal holding structure according to one embodiment includes a band-shaped terminal body, a stopper portion protruding from the side surface of the terminal body, and a recess formed on the side surface of the terminal body adjacent to the stopper portion. A press-fit terminal to be provided, a through hole into which a portion of the terminal body including the recess is press-fitted, and a part of an inner peripheral surface of an end portion of the through hole are formed and come into contact with the stopper portion of the terminal body. A holding member having a plate-shaped wall portion that regulates the press-fitting position and partially penetrates the recess is provided.

According to each embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a press-fit terminal holding structure and a connector in which the press-fit terminal is hard to come off and is easy to manufacture.

The external perspective view which shows an example of a connector 100. The view which saw the connector 100 of FIG. 1 from the Y2 direction. The view which saw the connector 100 of FIG. 1 from the Y1 direction. The external perspective view of the press-fitting terminal 1 of FIG. The view which saw the press-fitting terminal 1 of FIG. 1 from the Z1 direction. FIG. 2 is a view of the housing 2 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the Y1 direction. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the housing 2 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an assembly process of the connector 100. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an assembly process of the connector 100. A partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an assembly process of the connector 100. A partially enlarged view of FIG.

Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Regarding the description of the specification and the drawings according to each embodiment, the components having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and the superimposed description will be omitted.

The press-fit terminal holding structure according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to the present embodiment is a structure including a press-fit terminal and a holding member for holding the press-fit terminal, and can be applied to any device provided with the press-fit terminal. Such devices include connectors, encoders, volumes and the like. Hereinafter, the press-fitting terminal holding structure according to the present embodiment will be described by taking the connector 100 as an example, but the apparatus to which the press-fitting terminal holding structure according to the present embodiment can be applied is not limited to this.

First, the configuration of the connector 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the connector 100 will be described with reference to the directions shown in the figure (X1, X2, Y1, Y2, Z1, Z2 directions). The X1 and X2 directions are collectively referred to as the X direction, the Y1 and Y2 directions are collectively referred to as the Y direction, and the Z1 and Z2 directions are collectively referred to as the Z direction. The X, Y, and Z directions are orthogonal to each other.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of the connector 100. FIG. 2 is a view of the connector 100 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the Y2 direction. FIG. 3 is a view of the connector 100 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the Y1 direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the connector 100 includes eight press-fit terminals 1a to 1h and a housing 2. When the press-fit terminals 1a to 1h are not distinguished, they are referred to as press-fit terminals 1. The same applies to other configurations.

The press-fit terminal 1 is a metal terminal fixed to the housing 2 by press-fitting. The connector 100 includes eight press-fit terminals 1, but the number of press-fit terminals 1 can be arbitrarily designed.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the press-fit terminal 1 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of the press-fitting terminal 1 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the Z1 direction. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the press-fit terminal 1 includes a terminal body 11, stopper portions 121 and 122, recesses 131 and 132, pressing portions 141 and 142, and convex portions 151, 152, 161, 162. Have.

The terminal body 11 is a strip-shaped portion extending in the Y direction. The terminal body 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the Y direction and whose dimension in the X direction is larger than the dimension in the Z direction. The Y direction and the X direction correspond to the length direction and the width direction of the press-fit terminal 1, respectively. The surface of the terminal body 11 parallel to the YZ plane (plane parallel to the Y direction and the Z direction) is referred to as a side surface of the terminal body 11. The terminal body 11 is inserted into the housing 2 from the Y2 side end, and the press-fitting portion 17 is press-fitted into the housing 2 and fixed to the housing 2. The press-fitting portion 17 is a portion formed in the central portion of the terminal body 11 and press-fitted into the housing 2. The press-fitting portion 17 is formed to be at least thicker than the portion on the Y2 side thereof. The terminal body 11 may be bent in a predetermined direction from the stopper portions 121 and 122 on the Y1 side before being press-fitted into the housing 2.

The stopper portion 121 is a portion protruding in the X1 direction from the central portion of the side surface of the terminal body 11 on the X1 side. The stopper portion 122 is a portion protruding in the X2 direction from the central portion of the side surface of the terminal body 11 on the X2 side. The stopper portions 121 and 122 are formed so as to be adjacent to the Y1 side of the press-fitting portion 17 and to face each other with the terminal body 11 interposed therebetween. When the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the surfaces of the stopper portions 121 and 122 on the Y2 side come into contact with the wall portions 212 and 213 of the housing 2, which will be described later, respectively. As a result, the press-fitting position (position in the Y direction with respect to the housing 2) of the press-fitting terminal 1 is regulated.

The recess 131 is a portion formed on the side surface of the press-fitting portion 17 on the X1 side and recessed in the X2 direction. The recess 131 is formed adjacent to the Y2 side of the stopper portion 121. The recess 132 is a portion formed on the side surface of the press-fitting portion 17 on the X2 side and recessed in the X1 direction. The recess 132 is formed adjacent to the Y2 side of the stopper portion 122. The recesses 131 and 132 are formed so as to face each other with the terminal body 11 interposed therebetween. When the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the wall portions 212 and 213 of the housing 2 invade the recesses 131 and 132, respectively. As a result, the holding force of the press-fit terminal 1 is improved.

The pressing portion 141 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X1 side in the X1 direction. The pressing portion 141 is formed adjacent to the Y2 side of the recess 131. The pressing portion 142 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X2 side in the X2 direction. The pressing portion 142 is formed adjacent to the Y2 side of the recess 132. The pressing portions 141 and 142 are formed so as to face each other with the terminal body 11 interposed therebetween. When the press-fitting terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the pressing portions 141 and 142 press the wall portions 212 and 213 of the housing 2 outward (in the direction away from the terminal body 11), respectively. As a result, the holding force of the press-fitting terminal 1 by the wall portions 212 and 213 that have penetrated into the recesses 131 and 132 is further improved. The pressing portions 141 and 142 are formed so that the end portion on the Y2 side becomes higher from the Y2 side toward the Y1 side (the dimension in the X direction becomes larger) so that the press-fitting terminal 1 can be easily press-fitted. preferable. In this embodiment, the press-fitting terminal 1 may not have at least one of the pressing portions 141 and 142.

The convex portion 151 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X1 side in the X1 direction. The convex portion 151 is formed on the Y2 side of the pressing portion 141. The convex portion 152 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X2 side in the X2 direction. The convex portion 152 is formed on the Y2 side of the pressing portion 142. The convex portions 151 and 152 are formed so as to face each other with the terminal body 11 interposed therebetween. When the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the convex portions 151 and 152 press the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 211 described later in the housing 2 outward (in the direction away from the terminal body 11). As a result, the press-fit terminal 1 is held in the housing 2. The convex portions 151 and 152 are formed so that the end portion on the Y2 side becomes higher from the Y2 side toward the Y1 side (the dimension in the X direction becomes larger) so that the press-fit terminal 1 can be easily press-fitted. preferable. In this embodiment, the shapes and arrangements of the convex portions 151 and 152 are not limited to the example of FIG. Further, the press-fitting terminal 1 may be configured not to have at least one of the convex portions 151 and 152.

The convex portion 161 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X1 side in the X1 direction. The convex portion 161 is formed on the Y2 side of the convex portion 151. The convex portion 162 is a portion of the press-fitting portion 17 projecting from the side surface on the X2 side in the X2 direction. The convex portion 162 is formed on the Y2 side of the convex portion 152. The convex portions 161, 162 are formed so as to face each other with the terminal body 11 interposed therebetween. When the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the convex portions 161, 162 press the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 211 described later in the housing 2 outward (in the direction away from the terminal body 11). As a result, the press-fit terminal 1 is held in the housing 2. The convex portions 161, 162 are formed so that the end portion on the Y2 side becomes higher from the Y2 side toward the Y1 side (the dimension in the X direction becomes larger) so that the press-fit terminal 1 can be easily press-fitted. preferable. In this embodiment, the shapes and arrangements of the convex portions 161, 162 are not limited to the example of FIG. Further, in the present embodiment, the press-fitting terminal 1 may be configured not to have at least one of the convex portions 161, 162.

The housing 2 is an example of a holding member. The housing 2 is made of resin and holds the press-fit terminal 1. The housing 2 has a base 21 and a cover 22. Here, FIG. 6 is a view of the housing 2 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the Y1 direction. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the housing 2 of FIG.

The base portion 21 is a block-shaped portion that holds the press-fit terminal 1. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the base 21 has through holes 211a to 211h and wall portions 212a to 212h, 213a to 213h.

The through holes 211a to 211h are through holes formed in the base portion 21, and the press-fit terminals 1a to 1h are press-fitted, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the through holes 211a to 211h are arranged in a matrix of 2 rows and 4 columns. That is, the through holes 211a to 211d and the through holes 211e to 211h are arranged in a row in the X direction, respectively, and the through holes 211a, 211e, the through holes 211b, 211f, the through holes 211c, 211g, and the through holes 211d, 211h are , Each arranged in a row in the Z direction. The number and arrangement of the through holes 211 are determined according to the number and arrangement of the press-fit terminals 1 to be press-fitted into the base 21, and are not limited to the example of FIG.

The through hole 211 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the Y direction and has a dimension in the X direction larger than a dimension in the Z direction. The Y direction and the X direction correspond to the length direction and the width direction of the through hole 211, respectively. The press-fitting terminal 1 is inserted into the through hole 211 from the Y1 side, and the press-fitting portion 17 in which the stopper portions 121, 122, the pressing portions 141, 142, and the convex portions 151, 152, 161, 162 are formed is press-fitted. By press-fitting the press-fitting portion 17 of the press-fitting terminal 1 into the through hole 211, the press-fitting terminal 1 is fixed to the housing 2.

The wall portions 212a to 212h are plate-shaped portions extending in the Y direction formed on the X1 side of the through holes 211a to 211h, respectively. The wall portions 212a to 212h are formed so that the dimension in the Y direction is larger than the dimension in the Y direction of the recesses 131 and 132, and are arranged in a matrix of 2 rows and 4 columns like the through holes 211a to 211h. The X2 side surfaces of the wall portions 212a to 212h form an inner peripheral surface on the X1 side of the Y2 side ends of the through holes 211a to 211h, respectively.

The wall portions 212a to 212d are formed by forming recesses 214a to 214d on the X1 side of the through holes 211a to 211d on the Y2 side surface of the base portion 21, respectively. That is, the wall portions 212a to 212d correspond to plate-shaped portions formed between the through holes 211a to 211d and the recesses 214a to 214d, respectively. The dimensions of the recesses 214b to 214d in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are, for example, 1 mm, 1 mm, and 0.5 mm, but are not limited thereto.

Further, the wall portions 212e to 212h are formed by forming recesses 214f to 214i on the X1 side of the through holes 211e to 211h on the Y2 side surface of the base portion 21, respectively. That is, the wall portions 212e to 212h correspond to plate-shaped portions formed between the through holes 211e to 211h and the recesses 214f to 214i, respectively. The dimensions of the recesses 214g to 214i in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are, for example, 1 mm, 1 mm, and 0.5 mm, but are not limited thereto.

The wall portions 213a to 213h are plate-shaped portions extending in the Y direction formed on the X2 side of the through holes 211a to 211h, respectively. The wall portions 213a to 213h are arranged in a matrix of 2 rows and 4 columns, similarly to the through holes 211a to 211h. The X1 side surfaces of the wall portions 213a to 213h form an inner peripheral surface on the X2 side of the Y2 side ends of the through holes 211a to 211h, respectively.

The wall portions 213a to 213d are formed by forming recesses 214b to 214e on the X2 side of the through holes 211a to 211d on the Y2 side surface of the base portion 21, respectively. That is, the wall portions 213a to 213d correspond to plate-shaped portions formed between the through holes 211a to 211d and the recesses 214b to 214e, respectively.

Further, the wall portions 213e to 213h are formed by forming recesses 214g to 214j on the X2 side of the through holes 211e to 211h on the Y2 side surface of the base portion 21, respectively. That is, the wall portions 213e to 213h correspond to plate-shaped portions formed between the through holes 211e to 211h and the recesses 214g to 214j, respectively.

As can be seen from the above, the wall portions 212 and 213 are formed so as to face each other with the through hole 211 interposed therebetween. Further, the wall portions 212 and 213 are formed so as to face each other with the recess 214 sandwiched between the adjacent through holes 211. When the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side come into contact with the surfaces of the stopper portions 121 and 122 of the press-fit terminals 1 on the Y2 side, respectively. As a result, the press-fitting position (position in the Y direction with respect to the housing 2) of the press-fitting terminal 1 is regulated. Further, when the press-fitting terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 in contact with the stopper portions 121 and 122 on the Y1 side enter the recesses 131 and 132, respectively. As a result, the holding force of the press-fit terminal 1 is improved.

The ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side are preferably formed in a tapered shape. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the wall portion 212 has a dimension of the surface on the X2 side (the surface on the through hole 211 side) in the Y direction (the length direction of the through hole 211) on the surface on the X1 side (the surface on the X1 side). It is preferable that the dimension is larger than the dimension in the Y direction (the length direction of the through hole 211) in the surface opposite to the through hole 211). Further, in the wall portion 213, the dimension of the surface on the X1 side (the surface on the through hole 211 side) in the Y direction (the length direction of the through hole 211) is the surface on the X2 side (the surface opposite to the through hole 211). It is preferably formed larger than the dimension in the Y direction (the length direction of the through hole 211). With such a configuration, when the press-fit terminal 1 is press-fitted into the housing 2, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side are elastically deformed and guided to the through hole 211 side according to the tapered shape. As a result, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side can easily penetrate into the recesses 131 and 132.

The cover 22 is a tubular portion extending from the base 21 in the Y2 direction. The cover 22 covers the periphery of the press-fit terminal 1 held by the base 21 and exposed from the base 21 to the Y2 side to protect the press-fit terminal 1. The cover 22 has an opening on the Y2 side, and the press-fit terminal 1 is connected to an external device via the opened portion.

Next, a method of assembling the connector 100 will be described. 8, 9, and 11 are cross-sectional views showing an example of an assembly process of the connector 100. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

When the press-fit terminal 1 and the housing 2 are formed, first, as shown in FIG. 8, the portion of the press-fit terminal 1 on the Y2 side of the press-fit portion 17 is formed into the through hole 211 from the opening on the Y1 side of the through hole 211. Will be inserted. Since the portion of the press-fit terminal 1 on the Y2 side of the press-fit portion 17 is formed thinner than the through hole 211, it can be easily inserted into the through hole 211.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the press-fitting portion 17 of the press-fitting terminal 1 is press-fitted into the through hole 211 until the stopper portions 121 and 122 come into contact with the wall portions 212 and 213. Since the press-fitting portion 17 is formed to have substantially the same thickness as the through hole 211 and has convex portions 151,152,161,162, it presses the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 211 and presses the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 211. Is press-fitted into the through hole 211 while being elastically or plastically deformed. As a result, the press-fit terminal 1 is fixed to the housing 2.

Further, since the wall portions 212 and 213 are formed so as to partially contact the pressing portions 141 and 142, they are pressed outward by the pressing portions 141 and 142, respectively, and spread outward as shown in FIG. Elastically deforms to.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, the press-fitting portion 17 of the press-fitting terminal 1 is press-fitted into the through hole 211 until a part of the wall portions 212 and 213 penetrates into the recesses 131 and 132. Since the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side are formed in a tapered shape, when the press-fit portion 17 is further press-fitted in the Y2 direction from the state shown in FIG. 10, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 are elastically deformed. , It is guided to the through hole 211 side according to the tapered shape. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the ends of the wall portions 212 and 213 on the Y1 side penetrate into the recesses 131 and 132. By the above steps, the assembly of the connector 100 is completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the movement of the press-fitting terminal 1 with respect to the housing 2 in the Y direction is restricted by the wall portions 212 and 213 of the housing 2 that have penetrated into the recesses 131 and 132 of the press-fitting terminal 1. As a result, the holding force of the press-fitting terminal 1 by the housing 2 can be improved, and the press-fitting terminal 1 can be prevented from coming off from the housing 2.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the wall portions 212 and 213 are formed by forming the recesses 214 on the surface of the base portion 21 on the Y2 side. That is, simply by forming the recesses 214 on the Y2 side surface of the base 21 and forming the recesses 131 and 132 in the press-fitting terminals 1, the holding force of the press-fitting terminals 1 by the housing 2 is improved, and the press-fitting terminals 1 can be removed from the housing 2. It can be difficult to pull out. Therefore, the connector 100 can be easily manufactured as compared with the conventional connector which improves the holding force by complicating the shape of the through hole 211 which is difficult to process.

Further, by providing the press-fitting terminals 1 with the pressing portions 141 and 142, the force by which the wall portions 212 and 213 press the terminal main body 11 inward increases. As a result, the holding force of the press-fit terminal 1 can be further improved, and the press-fit terminal 1 can be made more difficult to come off from the housing 2.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations shown here, such as combinations with other elements in the configurations and the like described in the above embodiments. These points can be changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form thereof.

1: Press-fit terminal 2: Housing 11: Terminal body 121, 122: Stopper portion 131, 132: Recessed portion 141, 142: Pressing portion 151, 152: Convex portion 161, 162: Convex portion 17: Press-fit portion 211: Through hole 212, 213: Wall 214: Recess 100: Connector

Claims (9)

Band-shaped terminal body and
A stopper protruding from the side surface of the terminal body and
A recess formed adjacent to the stopper portion on the side surface of the terminal body,
With a press-fit terminal
A through hole into which a portion of the terminal body including the recess is press-fitted,
A plate-shaped wall portion that forms a part of the inner peripheral surface of the end portion of the through hole, contacts the stopper portion to regulate the press-fitting position of the terminal body, and partially penetrates the recess.
With a holding member
Press-fit terminal holding structure. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to claim 1, wherein the end portion of the wall portion on the stopper portion side is formed in a tapered shape. The dimension of the surface of the wall portion on the side of the through hole in the length direction of the through hole is larger than the dimension of the surface of the wall portion opposite to the through hole in the length direction of the through hole. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to claim 2. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the press-fit terminal has a stopper portion on each of the opposite side surfaces of the terminal body. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the press-fit terminal projects from the side surface of the terminal body and further has a pressing portion formed adjacent to the recess. The press-fit terminal holding structure according to claim 5, wherein the press-fit terminal has the pressing portion on the opposite side surface of the terminal body. The press-fitting terminal holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the holding member has a pair of wall portions facing each other with the through hole interposed therebetween. The holding member has a plurality of the through holes arranged in a row, and the holding member has a plurality of the through holes.
The press-fitting terminal holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a pair of the wall portions are formed so as to face each other between the adjacent through holes. A connector having a press-fitting terminal holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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