JP3768122B2 - Electrical connector with ground terminal - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a ground terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As this type of electrical connector, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2526169 is known.
[0003]
In this known connector, as shown in FIG. 7A of the accompanying drawings, a housing 62 is held in a cylindrical metal shell 61 (only a part of both are shown in the figure) Four terminals 63 (63A, 63B) are implanted in the housing 62 and extend in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.
[0004]
Each of the terminals 63 has a pin shape, one being used as a ground terminal 63A and the other three being used as signal terminals 63B. The ground terminal 63A is connected to the shell 61 by a ground member 64.
[0005]
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B of the accompanying drawings, the grounding member 64 is made by processing a thin metal plate, and has a pair of arm-shaped plate portions having a substantially semicircular shape. It has a portion 64A, an arcuate shell contact portion 64B, and a connecting portion 64C that connects the two. The diameter of the inner surface of the mounting portion 64A is slightly smaller than the diameter of the terminal 63A so as to sandwich the peripheral surface of the pin-shaped ground terminal 63A. The shell contact portion 64B is housed in a groove 62A formed in a part of the outer peripheral surface of the housing 62, and is curved in the circumferential direction and the axis (vertical) direction of the housing with respect to the surface of the groove 62A. The shell contact portion 64 </ b> B has a plurality of slits 64 </ b> D formed in the vertical direction, and provides elasticity when sandwiched between the housing 62 and the shell 61. The connecting portion 64C forms a plane perpendicular to the axis and connects the mounting portion 64A and the shell contact portion 64B. Thus, the ground terminal 63A to which the attachment portion 64A is attached and the shell 61 to which the shell contact portion 64B is elastically contacted are connected by the ground member 64.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the known connector described above, the grounding member 64 requires extremely complicated pressing. For example, the attachment part 64A, the shell contact part 64B, and the connection part 64C are on different surfaces, the former two have a curved surface, and the shell contact part 64B also requires slit processing. Therefore, processing costs increase.
[0007]
Since complicated press work is required, the material must be thin, and therefore the conductive cross-sectional area is small and a large current cannot flow. Further, the contact between the shell 61 and the housing 62 becomes unstable due to the movement of the shell contact portion at the time of the snug fitting. In addition, the movement also affects the attachment portion via the connecting portion, and here, contact is unstable. Furthermore, when the ground terminal and the mounting portion are fitted, the mounting portion may be excessively widened, so that the holding force is reduced and the contact becomes unstable. Originally, the material is made of a thin material, and since the holding force is not so large due to being opened at one place, the influence is great.
[0008]
In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a grounding terminal, which includes a grounding member that is not only easy to manufacture but also has a large contact pressure at a connection site to obtain a stable contact. .
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An electrical connector according to the present invention includes a grounding member or a housing connected to the shell, in which a straight non-grounding terminal is held in parallel with the axis of the shell by a housing held in a cylindrical metal shell. Thus, at least one straight ground terminal is held in parallel with the non-ground terminal.
[0010]
In such an electrical connector, according to the present invention, the grounding member is made of a plate-shaped metal member with a rigidity in the plate thickness direction by maintaining the plate surface as it is, and is formed radially inward from the ring portion and the ring portion. A ring-shaped grounding portion extending to the grounding terminal, and the ring portion is provided with contact portions at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction and has elasticity in the radial direction between the contact portions. The ring portion is inserted into the shell, the contact portion of the outer peripheral surface is in contact with the shell, the grounding portion is formed with a fitting hole, and the grounding terminal is press-fitted into the fitting hole. It is a feature.
[0011]
Since such a grounding member of the present invention can be obtained by simply punching a metal plate, a thick metal plate can be used as a material, and a large conducting cross-sectional area can be obtained. In addition, relatively so high precision machining is performed, it is possible to fit the contact under high pressure, to obtain a reliable and stable contact.
[0012]
The grounding member maintains the plate surface as it is, has high rigidity in the plate thickness direction, and has elasticity in the ring portion in the radial direction. To obtain the elastic ring portion, the circumferential direction of the contact portion is provided at a plurality of positions, that is elastically deformable in the radial direction between the contact portions.
[0013]
The grounding portion desirably has a width larger than the diameter of the fitting hole in a range between the ring portion and the fitting hole. By doing so, a large cross-sectional area can be secured in the above range.
[0014]
In the present invention, as a form of mounting the grounding member to the housing, the housing has an annular step formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer surface on the mounting side of the grounding member, and a radially outward portion from a position near the grounding terminal. Has an opening that is opened radially outward, and the ring portion can be disposed on the seating surface of the annular stepped portion while the grounding portion of the grounding member enters the opening toward the inside of the radius. Can be made.
[0015]
The grounding member is made by punching, and a sag is formed on the processing edge of one surface, and the grounding terminal is press-fitted and pressed into the shell from the side having the sag. If this is the case, it is possible to smoothly press-fit the ground terminal into the ground member and the ground member into the shell by utilizing the sag generated during punching. At that time, the grounding member is provided with a projection portion on at least one of the inner edge portion of the ring portion and the edge portion of the grounding portion for preventing the reverse misassembly of the one surface having the sag and the other surface. It is preferable.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.
[0017]
1 is a partially broken perspective view of the electrical connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. In the figure, a housing 30 for holding terminals 20 and 21 is housed in a cylindrical metal shell 10.
[0018]
The shell 10 has a cylindrical shape, and is provided with a mounting flange 11 projecting radially outward in an intermediate portion in the axial direction, and a threaded portion 12 for fitting with a mating connector on the outer periphery below the flange 11. Is formed.
[0019]
The terminals 20 and 21 are composed of two types of terminals: one ground terminal 20 and three non-ground terminals (generally referred to as non-ground terminals such as signal terminals and power supply terminals, hereinafter referred to as non-ground terminals) 21. . Both types of terminals 20 and 21 have a generally long pin shape as a whole. Both terminals 20 and 21 have contact portions 20A and 21A on one end side, connection portions 20B and 21B on the other end side, and contact portions 20C on the intermediate portion. 21C and fixing parts 20D and 21D, the former three are formed in the same way by both terminals 20 and 21, and only the fixing part has a different form at both terminals.
[0020]
The contact portions 20A and 21A have hemispherical tips and are pin-shaped with a diameter smaller than that of the connection portions 20B and 21B on the other end side. The connection portions 20B and 21B are tubular and convenient for solder connection of electric wires. An arc-shaped notch is formed. The close contact portions 20C and 21C have short cylindrical outer peripheral surfaces formed with a larger diameter than the contact portions 20A and 21A.
[0021]
Regarding the fixing portion, as shown in FIG. 2, the fixing portion 20D of the ground terminal 20 is formed at a position immediately above the contact portion 20C and has a large diameter having a short cylindrical outer peripheral surface larger in diameter than the contact portion 20C. It is located immediately above the portion 20E and has knurled eyes. On the other hand, the fixing portion 21D of the non-ground terminal 21 is provided at a position corresponding to the large diameter portion 20E of the ground terminal 20, and has a short cylindrical outer peripheral surface having a diameter larger than that of the close contact portion 21C. It has what is called D cut part 21D1 from which the part was linearly cut off.
[0022]
The housing 30 is formed with fixing holes 31 into which the fixing portions 21D of the three non-ground terminals 21 are inserted. The fixing hole 31 has a stepped portion, where the non-grounded terminal 21 is positioned in the longitudinal direction of the terminal at the end face of the fixing portion 21D, and the terminal is positioned in the circumferential direction by the D-cut portion 21D1. Yes. Above the fixed hole 31, the housing 30 has a through hole 32, and allows the connection portion 21 </ b> B of the non-grounded terminal 21 to pass therethrough. The fixing hole 31 and the through hole 32 communicate with each other. The housing 30 holds the three non-ground terminals 21 in the same manner.
[0023]
On the other hand, in the ground terminal 20, the fixing portion 20D provided with the knurled eyes of the ground terminal 20 is press-fitted into a fitting hole 42A to which the ground member 40 described later corresponds, and is fixed and rotated in the circumferential direction of the terminal. And misalignment is prevented. The connection portion 20 </ b> B of the ground terminal 20 passes through a through hole 33 formed in the housing 30. The housing 30 is formed with an annular step 34 for arranging the ground member 40 on the outer periphery of the surface facing upward, and accommodates the ground portion of the ground member 40 at the position of the ground terminal 20 in the circumferential direction. An opening 35 is formed. The annular step 34 and the opening 35 will be described in detail later together with the grounding member 40.
[0024]
For example, a rubber packing 50 is attached to the lower surface of the housing 30 from below. The packing 50 is configured such that the close contact portion 21C of the non-ground terminal 21 and the close contact portion 20C of the ground terminal 20 are tightly fitted, and the contact portion 21A and the contact portion 20A can pass therethrough. The packing 50 can be mounted by fitting the concave and convex portions with the corresponding portions of the housing when mounted on the housing 30, and the outer periphery of the packing 50 is engaged with the inner flange portion 13 provided on the inner surface of the shell 10. It also has an annular locking portion 52 that stops. The outer peripheral surface of the locking portion 52 is dimensioned to be in close contact with the inner surface of the shell 10. Since the packing is not the main part of the present invention, further explanation is omitted.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 4, the grounding member 40 is formed as a ring obtained by punching a flat metal plate and maintaining the flat surface as it is. The grounding member 40 is made relatively thick and has a large rigidity in the thickness direction. The grounding member 40 includes a ring portion 41 and a tongue-shaped grounding portion 42 extending radially inward from the inner surface of the ring portion 41.
[0026]
In the case of the illustrated example, the ring portion 41 is provided with a contact portion 41A on the outer surface of a portion slightly projecting radially outward at four locations in the circumferential direction, and the space between the contact portions 41A is wider than the portion of the contact portion 41A. Is a narrow elastic portion 41B. The contact portion 41 </ b> A has an outer diameter (outer peripheral surface) that is convenient for press fitting the ring portion to the inner surface of the shell 10. In addition, the elastic portion 41B can be elastically reduced in the radial direction during the press-fitting.
[0027]
The tongue-shaped grounding portion 42 is formed with a fitting hole 42A. The fitting hole 42A is at a position where the fixing portion 20D of the ground terminal 20 is press-fitted, and has such a dimension. Further, the grounding portion 42 is provided with a protrusion 42B at the boundary with the inner edge of the ring portion so as not to make a mistake in the mounting direction of the front and back sides of the grounding member. Such a protrusion can be provided at any position on the inner edge of the ring.
[0028]
In such a grounding member 40, a slit 41 </ b> C as shown by a two-dot chain line may be formed in the elastic part 41 </ b> B in order to bring great elasticity to the ring part 41. Similarly, a slit 41D may be formed in the ground portion 42 so as to enable elastic diameter expansion when the ground terminal is press-fitted into the fitting hole 42A.
[0029]
The range of the grounding portion 42 between the inner surface of the ring portion 41 and the fitting hole 42A is the same width, but this width is not necessarily equal as long as the width is equal to or larger than the diameter of the fitting hole 42A. The width may be determined so as to increase as it approaches the ring portion 41 as indicated by a two-dot chain line.
[0030]
Next, the assembly procedure of the connector of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0031]
(1) First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, a housing 30 and a grounding member 40 are prepared. As described above, the housing 30 has an annular step 34 formed on the outer periphery on the upper surface side, and an opening 35 that communicates with the annular step 34 is formed at one location in the circumferential direction. However, it brings the grounding member 40 above and to the side of the housing so that the grounding part 42 faces the opening 35.
[0032]
(2) Next, as shown in FIGS. 5 (B) and 6 (B), the grounding member 40 is tilted at an upper position of the housing 30, and the grounding portion 42 of the grounding member 40 is brought into the opening 35 of the housing 30. The ring portion 41 is positioned so as to be directed onto the annular step portion 34 of the housing 30 while making it approach.
[0033]
(3) Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 5 (C) and 6 (C), the grounding portion 42 of the grounding member 40 is caused to enter the opening 35 to a predetermined position and the ring portion 41 is moved to the annular step portion 34. Place on the seat. Further, as seen in FIG. 5C, the ground terminal 20 is attached to the ground member 40 from below. This attachment is achieved by press-fitting the fixing portion 20D of the ground terminal 20 into the fitting hole 42A formed in the ground portion 42 of the ground member 40. This obtains an electrically reliable connection between the two together with the strong holding of the ground terminal 20 by the ground member 40. The connecting portion 20 </ b> B of the ground terminal 20 protrudes upward through the through hole 33 of the housing 30.
[0034]
(4) Along with the mounting of the ground terminal 20 in the above (3), the three non-ground terminals 21 are also mounted on the housing 30 from below. Each ungrounded terminal 21 is fixed by inserting a fixing portion 21 </ b> D into a fixing hole 31 of the housing 30. Similarly to the case of the ground terminal 20, the connection portion 21 </ b> B of the non-ground terminal 21 also protrudes upward through the through hole 32 of the housing 30.
[0035]
(5) Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (D), the packing 50 is assembled into the lower surface of the housing 30. The packing 50 is press-fitted to a corresponding portion formed on the lower surface of the housing with the uneven portion provided on the upper surface. When assembled, the packing 50 is moved upward while penetrating the contact portion 20A of the ground terminal 20 and the contact portion 21A of the non-ground terminal 21, and when the packing 50 is firmly assembled into the lower surface of the housing 30, The close contact portion 20C of the ground terminal 20 and the close contact portion 21C of the non-ground terminal 21 are both closely fitted and held by the corresponding concave portions of the packing. Thus, an assembly including the housing 30, the ground terminal 20, the non-ground terminal 21, and the packing 50 is obtained.
[0036]
(6) The assembly obtained in the above (5) is assembled into the shell 10 from above as shown in FIG. 2, and the contact portion of the ring portion of the grounding member is inserted into contact with the shell. Is conducted. In this assembly, the locking portion 52 of the packing 50 is positioned by being locked to the inner flange portion 13 of the shell 10 and is fixed by a grounding member. Further, the position is fixed by the stop ring 61 so as to keep the packing 50 compressed from above. Thus, the connector of this embodiment is obtained.
[0037]
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be modified. For example, the number of ground terminals is not limited to one, and a plurality of terminals may be provided, the terminal arrangement including the non-ground terminals is free, and the housing Can also be in various shapes. For example, even if it does not have an opening that allows the grounding portion of the grounding member to be received, the grounding member may simply be arranged on the housing.
[0038]
In addition, the grounding member can be made by stamping as the simplest dimension, but at this time, the sagging generated at the processing edge can be used. That is, if the roundness formed by the sagging is used as the press-fitting side to the shell and the press-fitting side of the installation terminal, the press-fitting becomes easy. In order to prevent the grounding member from being pressed into the shell by mistake in the direction of the sag, the mis-assembly preventing protrusion 42B described in FIG. 4 is also useful here.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the grounding member can be obtained by simply punching a metal plate having rigidity in the thickness direction while maintaining the plate surface. The area can be increased. In addition, since the processing is simple, the center position of the ring hole and the fitting hole of the tongue-shaped grounding part can be obtained accurately, and the mating contact is possible under high pressure, ensuring reliable and stable contact. Made. Furthermore, because of the simple shape and processing, the size and cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
4 is a plan view of a grounding member used in the connector of FIGS.
5 is a perspective view showing the assembly of the housing, terminals, and packing of the connector of FIGS. 1 to 3 in the order of (A) to (D). FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (C). FIG.
7A and 7B show a main part of a conventional connector, in which FIG. 7A is a plan view and FIG. 7B is a side view of a grounding member in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Shell 20 (Ground) Terminal 21 (Signal) Terminal 30 Housing 34 Annular Step 35 Opening 40 Ground Member 41 Ring Portion 41A Contact Portion 42 Ground Portion 42A Fitting Hole 42B Protrusion

Claims (5)

A straight non-ground terminal is held in parallel with the axis of the shell by a housing held in a cylindrical metal shell, and at least one straight ground is connected by the ground member or the housing connected to the shell. In the electrical connector in which the terminal is held in parallel with the non-grounding terminal, the grounding member is made of a plate-shaped metal member with the plate surface as it is, and is made with rigidity in the plate thickness direction. And a tongue-shaped grounding portion extending radially inward from the ring portion to the grounding terminal. The ring portion is provided with contact portions at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction and has a radius between the contact portions. It has elasticity in the direction, the ring part is fitted into the shell, the contact part of the outer peripheral surface is in contact with the shell, and the grounding part is formed with a fitting hole so that the grounding to the fitting hole Make sure that the terminals are press-fit. Electrical connector having a ground terminal, wherein.   The electrical connector having a ground terminal according to claim 1, wherein the ground portion has a width larger than the diameter of the fitting hole in a range between the ring portion and the fitting hole.   The housing has an annular step formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer surface on the mounting side of the grounding member, and has an opening in which a radially outer portion is opened radially outward from a position near the grounding terminal. 2. The grounding terminal according to claim 1, wherein the ring part can be arranged on the seating surface of the annular step part while the grounding part of the grounding member is made to enter the opening part inward in the radius. Having an electrical connector. The grounding member is made by punching, and a sag is formed on the processing edge of one surface, and the grounding terminal is press-fitted and pressed into the shell from the side having the sag. An electrical connector having a ground terminal according to claim 1 or 3 . Grounding member according to claim 4, the protrusion for preventing the inverted erroneously assembled between one surface and the other surface is provided on at least one edge of the ground portion and the inner edge of the ring portion An electrical connector having the ground terminal described in 1.

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