JP3355276B2 - Connector device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector device capable of easily confirming a connection state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When connecting male and female connectors, care must be taken not to leave the connection incomplete. However, when the connection must be made in a place where it cannot be seen directly, extra care must be taken.

One solution for such a case is a self-aligning connector that automatically positions the male and female connectors when they are mated.

In one example, one connector is movably mounted on a member to be mounted, and the other connector is fixedly mounted on another member to be mounted. There is a drawer connector to match.

[0005]

The drawer connector has been devised in order to facilitate work in a place where it cannot be directly viewed. However, even with this drawer connector, the connection between the male and female terminals is sufficient. Since it is not always possible to visually confirm whether or not there is, it is not possible to completely prevent the occurrence of the incomplete connection state.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a female connector provided with a substantially cylindrical female terminal, and a substantially plate-shaped male terminal fitted to the female terminal. And a male connector provided with a male connector. The connector device further comprises a connector coupling sensor for detecting a coupling completed state in which the female terminal is fitted to the male terminal at an effective fitting portion of the male terminal.

Here, the effective fitting portion is a portion necessary for a completely fitted state with respect to the female terminal, and is a portion excluding a tapered portion formed at the tip of the male terminal.

[0008] The insertion length required for a complete fitting state of the effective fitting portion to the female terminal is the effective fitting length, and is arbitrarily set depending on a combination structure with the female terminal.

Furthermore, the connector coupling sensor, Ru provided to each polarity portion of the female connector and the male connector. Here, the polar part of the connector, when connecting the male and female connectors,
It is a part for positioning so that it can be connected only when the positional relationship between the two connectors is correct, and is usually composed of a concave part provided on one side and a convex part provided on the other side fitted with this. I have.

The connector-coupled sensor has a substantially plate-shaped first sensor terminal and a second sensor terminal that is brought into contact with the first sensor terminal when the coupling between the male and female connectors is completed. It consists of . Beyond the second sensor terminal
At the end, the connection between the male terminal and the female terminal is completed.
A spring portion that comes into contact with the first sensor terminal when the first sensor terminal contacts the first sensor terminal.

At this time , the tip of the first sensor terminal is covered.
And the uncoated portion is an exposed portion, and the spring portion is
By getting over the coating and contacting the exposed part,
Conduction is made to the second sensor terminal. In addition, the male mold
By inserting the terminal into the effective mating length,
When the connection is completed, the first and second sensor terminals
Between the effective fitting length of the male terminals
In the spring portion at the exposed portion of the first sensor terminal,
Shorten the fitting length.

Further, the connector device can be configured as a self-aligning connector.

[0013]

According to the connector device of the present invention, when the male terminal is fitted with the female terminal with an effective fitting length, the connector connection sensor detects that this is in a completely connected state. You
That is, the effective length of the first sensor terminal is larger than the effective fitting length of the male terminal.
The fitting length of the exposed part to the spring part is shortened.
When the male terminal and female terminal are completely connected
The first sensor terminal and the second sensor terminal are in contact with each other
And complete connection between the male and female connectors.
Detect.

Therefore, if the connection state is incomplete,
Since the connector connection sensor does not detect the connection state, it is possible to immediately know that the connection operation is not completed, and it is possible to prevent the connection operation from being completed in an incomplete connection state.

Further, since the provision of the connector coupling sensor polar portion of each connector, it is not necessary to provide the housing portion of the dedicated space efficiency is increased.

Further, since the connector coupling sensor is composed of the first sensor terminal and the second sensor terminal , the connector can be easily attached to the connector, and the coupling state of the connector can be easily detected.

[0017] Moreover, this covering the tip of the first sensor terminal
Thus, since the exposure length of the first sensor terminal can be made constant, it is possible to prevent a decrease in detection accuracy due to accumulation of tolerances.

[0018] In addition, the use of the self-aligning connector that assumes the binding work in a place that can not be directly visible,
Even with such groping connection work, an incomplete connection state can be more reliably prevented.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a view showing a terminal portion of a drawer connector to which the present invention is applied, before and after connection, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing how to attach the entire drawer connector, and FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector-coupled sensor portion, FIG. 5 is a view showing a fitted state of a female terminal and a male terminal, and FIG.
7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part, and FIG. 9 is a female connector B in FIG.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 in FIG.

First, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drawer connector device comprises a male connector 10 and a female connector 20.
Is provided.

The male connector 10 is movably mounted on a mounting plate 30 previously fixed to a mounting member (not shown) at a place where it cannot be directly viewed.

The mounting plate 30 has a central hole 31 and screw holes 32 provided above and below the opening edge of the central hole 31.

The male connector 10 includes a housing 11 made of an insulating resin. The housing 11 has a terminal housing portion 11a having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and a flange formed at one end thereof on a side facing the female connector 20. Unit 11b.

The terminal accommodating portion 11a has an outer shape large enough to fit loosely into the central hole 31, and has a mounting hole 12 at a corner of the flange 11b corresponding to the screw hole 32.

The male connector 10 is put terminal accommodating portion 11a to the central bore 31, preparative was further substantially match the screw hole 32
Put collar 33 biasing bore 12, is mounted to the mounting plate 30 by screwing into the screw hole 32 by a bolt 35 is covered with a washer 34 at its upper end.

At this time, as apparent from FIG. 3, since the inner diameter of the mounting hole 12 is larger than the outer shape of the collar 33, there is a clearance a between the mounting hole 12 and the collar 33.

The collar 33 projects from the mounting hole 12 and has a clearance b between the washer 34 and the surface of the mounting hole 12.

Further, since there is a sufficient clearance between the central hole 31 and the periphery of the terminal housing portion 11a, the male connector 10 is temporarily fixed to the mounting plate 30 so as to be movable.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, a pair of guide holes 13 are provided substantially diagonally at a corner of the flange portion 11b at a location different from the mounting hole 12.

The guide hole 13 has a tapered slope 14 at the entrance and a slot 15 formed therein.

A fitting recess 16 for fitting a later-described polar portion of the female connector 20 is formed at the center of the terminal housing 11a on the side facing the female connector 20.

The female connector 20 includes a housing 21 made of an insulating resin.
1a and a flange 11 of the male connector 10 at one end thereof.
b and a flange portion 21b formed so as to overlap.

The terminal accommodating portion 21a projects in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape in the coupling direction with the male connector 10 in order to fit into the fitting concave portion 16, and also fits into the guide hole 13 from the flange portion 21b. The guide projection 22 is formed to project.

A guide plate 23 extends upward from the upper portion of the flange portion 21b, and a guide hole 24 is formed at the tip thereof, and a guide rod 24a penetrates the guide hole 24. The guide rod 24a is used for positioning the female connector 20.
From the mounting member side.

The female connector 20 is a male connector 1
It is immovably attached to an attached member (not shown) different from the attached member to which 0 is attached.

The male connector 10, the female connector 20 and the mounting plate 30 constitute a drawer connector which is a self-aligning connector.

In this drawer connector, a guide rod 24a is fitted into a horizontally long guide hole 36 formed in the upper part of the mounting plate 30 with respect to the male connector 10 temporarily fixed to the mounting plate 30 in advance, thereby positioning the whole. Do.

Subsequently, when the female connector 20 is pushed by being guided by the guide rod 24a, the guide projection 22 is first fitted into the guide hole 13, and the movable male connector 10 is automatically aligned with the female connector 20. .

In FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8, the male terminal 40 is inserted through the terminal insertion hole 17 into the fitting recess 16 of the terminal accommodating portion 11a. It is locked to the portion 16a.

A sensor terminal mounting step 18 is formed at the center of the fitting recess 16 so as to protrude into the fitting recess 16, and the first sensor terminal 50 is inserted through the terminal insertion hole 18a. Is locked to the locking portion 18 b on the inner surface of the fitting recess 16.

The distal end 52 of the first sensor terminal 50 is inserted into the distal end covering portion 19 formed on the inner surface of the fitting recess 16.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A female terminal 60 is inserted into 1a, and is locked by a hook 61 to a locking portion 21c in the terminal storage portion 21a.

A guide groove 25 into which the sensor terminal mounting step 18 is fitted is formed at the center of the terminal housing portion 21a, and a cylindrical portion 26 is provided therein. A through hole 27 is formed in the cylindrical portion 26. None, here the second sensor terminal 70 is inserted.

A spring portion 71 formed at the tip of the second sensor terminal 70 projects from the cylindrical portion 26 into the guide groove 25. Further, a claw 72 integral with the spring portion 71 is locked to the locking portion 26 a of the cylindrical portion 26.

The first of these connector-coupled sensors is
The sensor terminal 50 and the second sensor terminal 70 are connected to appropriate detection means for turning on a pilot lamp when both terminals conduct.

FIG. 5 shows a coupling state between the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60. The male terminal 40 has a tapered portion 42 at the tip end, and the tapered portion beyond the thickness change point 43 at which the tapered portion starts is a guide portion at the time of fitting, and is an ineffective portion for inter-terminal coupling.

The portion behind the thickness change point 43 (based on the coupling direction, the same applies hereinafter) is a plate having a constant thickness and is a fitting effective portion 44 at the time of terminal-to-terminal coupling. Form caulking part 45 with code

On the other hand, the female terminal 60 has a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape at the distal end, a fitting opening 62 at the distal end, a downwardly folded portion 63 at the center of the upper surface, and a spring portion continuous with the claw 61 at the lower side. Make 64.

The spring portion 64 is folded back toward the rear caulking portion 65 so as to enlarge and describe the free state, the tip of the spring portion 64 forms a free end 66, and the middle portion forms a substantially mountain-shaped upwardly projecting spring top 67. .

The spring top 67 is formed with a gap smaller than the thickness of the effective fitting portion 44 between the spring top 67 and the folded portion 63.

The spring portion 64 is bent by the insertion of the effective fitting portion 44, and the free end 66 contacts the bottom portion 68, and the conduction is ensured by pushing up the effective fitting portion 44 and pressing it against the folded portion 63. .

When the male terminal 40 is fitted to the female terminal 60 in a necessary and sufficient state, the fitting effective portion 4 of the male terminal 40 is
4, the length from the thickness change point 43 to the contact point with the spring top 67 is the effective fitting length L.

The effective fitting length L is a length necessary for securely connecting the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60, and is set variously depending on the terminal structure and the like.

If the degree of fitting of the male terminal 40 is less than the effective fitting length L, it is determined that the connection is incomplete, and if it is less than the effective fitting length L, it is determined that the connection is complete.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First,
In FIG. 3, when the female connector 20 is fitted to the male connector 10, the distal end portion 42 of the male terminal 40 is connected to the female terminal 60.
Of the spring portion 64 is elastically deformed,
The male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60 become conductive.

On the other hand, in the connector-coupled sensor, the sensor terminal mounting step 18 is fitted into the guide groove 25 in FIG.
The distal end covering portion 19 deforms and goes over the spring portion 71 of the second sensor terminal 70, so that the spring portion 71 comes into contact with the exposed surface of the first sensor terminal 50 and becomes conductive.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60 and the relationship between the first sensor terminal 50 and the second sensor terminal 70. Has not yet been inserted by a sufficient effective fitting length L.

At this time, the first sensor terminal 50 and the second sensor terminal 70 are in a non-contact state, indicating an incompletely connected state between the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60.

Subsequently, in the completely connected state at the lower stage, the distal end portion 42 of the male terminal 40 is inserted by the effective fitting length L, and the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60 are in a completely connected state.

At this time, the first sensor terminal 50 and the second sensor terminal 70 also come into contact with each other to be in a conductive state, and a complete coupling state between the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60 is detected.

Therefore, even in the joining operation only in the groping state, which cannot be directly seen, it can be confirmed by a suitable means such as a pilot lamp connected to the first sensor terminal 50 and the second sensor terminal 70, so that the joining operation can be surely performed, and the connection is incomplete. It is possible to prevent the joining operation from being terminated in the joined state.

For this reason, even with the drawer connector which is supposed to be a groping connection operation, an incomplete connection operation is more reliably performed.

Moreover, the coupling sensor is connected to the first sensor terminal 50.
By using the second sensor terminal 70 and the second sensor terminal 70, the structure can be simplified according to the same principle as the relationship between the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60.

Further, since space can be provided in the dead space of the male connector 10 and the female connector 20, the space efficiency is improved.

Moreover, the length of the exposed portion of the first sensor terminal 50 becomes constant by inserting the tip of the first sensor terminal 50 into the tip covering portion 19 and covering the tip with the tip covering portion 19.

This means that when the first sensor terminal 50 is inserted into and attached to the male connector 10, the male connector 1
By accumulating various tolerances such as 0, the molding tolerance of the first sensor terminal 50 itself, the tolerance when attaching the first sensor terminal 50 to the male connector 10, and the tolerance of the locking portion by the claw 51, It is possible to prevent a possibility that the length accuracy of the exposed portion is reduced and prevent the exposing portion from being prone, to maintain a certain dimensional accuracy, and to enhance the detection accuracy of the connection state.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, but can be applied in various ways. For example, the connector is not limited to a drawer connector.

The connector coupling sensor is not limited to such a combination of the female terminal and the male terminal, and generates a signal when the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 60 are coupled with an effective fitting length. Should be fine.

Accordingly, various switches having contact structures, such as a pressing switch and a slide switch, a switch utilizing the magnetism of a magnet, and an optical sensor can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an attachment method.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an attached state.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector coupling sensor part.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a fitted state of a female terminal and a male terminal.

FIG. 6 is a view of the male connector in a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 9 is a view of the female connector in a direction indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

[Description of Signs] 10: Male connector, 20: Female connector, 30: Mounting plate, 40: Male terminal, 50: First sensor terminal, 6
0: female terminal, 70: first sensor terminal,

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masazumi Igarashi 1000, Otagaya, Tsurugashima-shi, Saitama Toyo Denso Co., Ltd. Inside Tsurugashima Plant (72) Inventor Naruki Kato 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Honda Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-6-181083 (JP, A) JP-A-3-190068 (JP, A) JP-A-5-38782 (JP, U) (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/62-13/645 H01R 13/70-13/713 G01R 31/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector device comprising: a female connector provided with a substantially cylindrical female terminal; and a male connector provided with a substantially plate-shaped male terminal fitted to the female terminal. A connector connection sensor for detecting a connection completion state in which the effective fitting portion of the male terminal is fitted to the mold terminal ,
A connector connection sensor is provided for each polar part of the connector , and the connector connection sensor is a substantially plate-shaped first sensor terminal.
And the connection between the male terminal and the female terminal was completed.
The second sensor contacts the first sensor terminal and becomes conductive.
A sensor terminal , and covers the tip of the first sensor terminal, and is not covered.
The exposed part is the exposed part, and the connection between the male terminal and female terminal is made.
When the connection is completed, it is set at the tip of the second sensor terminal.
The spring part that has been pushed over the coating and contacts the exposed part.
Touching the second sensor terminal to make it conductive
And, said first and when the effective engagement length inserting the male terminal
So that the conductive state is established between the two sensor terminals.
At the exposed portion of the first sensor terminal,
A connector device, wherein a fitting length with respect to the spring portion is reduced. 2. A self-aligning connector.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided.
apparatus.