JP3800493B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector provided with a short-circuit terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, what was described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 8-153553 is known as an example of the connector provided with the short circuit terminal which short-circuits between several terminal metal fittings. This connector includes a pair of elastic contact pieces formed by folding back a tongue piece extending forward from the front end of a flat plate-like main body portion, and projecting pieces projecting along the width direction from both side edges of the main body portion. The short-circuit terminals provided with the connector housing are accommodated in the accommodation chamber of the connector housing, and each elastic contact piece is elastically brought into contact with a pair of terminal fittings disposed facing the accommodation chamber. The terminal fittings are short-circuited.
In this type of connector, the projecting piece is press-fitted into a press-fitting groove provided in a side edge of the accommodation chamber in order to keep the short-circuit terminal from coming out of the accommodation chamber.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to stabilize the press-fitting operation of the short-circuit terminal, it is necessary to set the projecting dimension in the width direction to a certain size, and the width dimension of the press-fitting groove is set accordingly. The storage room was enlarged in the width direction.
This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at suppressing that the accommodating chamber which accommodates a short circuit terminal enlarges in the width direction.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a means for achieving the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is provided with a plurality of terminal fittings arranged side by side in the width direction and capable of contacting each terminal fitting, and having a height. A plurality of contact pieces that can be elastically deformed along the direction, and provided with a housing chamber that accommodates a short-circuit terminal capable of short-circuiting between the respective terminal fittings, the short-circuit terminal in the height direction press-fitting piece is provided extending along, and so this press-fitting piece is pressed into the press grooves provided in a form extending along Oite the height direction at a side edge of the accommodating chamber, wherein The short-circuit terminal includes a main body portion that is flat and extends in the width direction, and the contact piece is configured to protrude from the main body portion in the height direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and The press-fitting pieces are in front of both ends of the main body. Been raised in the same direction as the contact piece having the features at where the structure is provided integrally with the by side plates and forms extending along the height direction.
[0005]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the press-fitting piece is formed with a guide surface capable of guiding a press-fitting operation into the press-fitting groove.
[0006]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the one according to the first or second aspect, the short-circuit terminal and the accommodating chamber are locked to each other so that displacement of the short-circuit terminal in the pulling direction can be regulated. It is characterized in that a simple locking means is provided.
[0007]
A fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector described in any one of claims 1 to 3, in the prior SL pressed forward end side with respect to the press-fitting groove of the housing chamber in the press-fitting piece, disconnected from the body portion It is characterized in that a press-fitting guide piece is provided.
[0008]
[Action and effect of the invention]
<Invention of Claim 1>
As the short-circuit terminal is accommodated in the accommodation chamber of the connector housing, the press-fitting piece is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove on the side edge of the accommodation chamber, whereby the short-circuit terminal is accommodated and held in the accommodation chamber. At this time, each contact piece is brought into elastic contact with each terminal fitting.
Since the press-fitting piece and the press-fitting groove are formed to extend in the height direction (= elastic deformation direction of the contact piece), the protruding dimension in the width direction of the press-fitting piece and the press-fitting groove is about the thickness of the press-fitting piece. It is possible to suppress the enlargement of the storage chamber in the width direction as much as possible.
[0009]
<Invention of Claim 2>
The guide surface guides the press-fitting operation with respect to the press-fitting groove of the press-fitting piece, and can smoothly perform the operation of housing the short-circuit terminal in the housing chamber.
<Invention of Claim 3>
When the short-circuit terminal is accommodated in the accommodation chamber, in addition to the press-fitting pieces being press-fitted into the press-fitting groove, the locking means are mutually locked, so that the holding force of the short-circuit terminal in the accommodation chamber can be amplified. it can.
[0010]
<Invention of Claim 4>
When the short-circuit terminal is accommodated in the accommodation chamber, the press-fitting guide piece separated from the main body part is press-fitted before the press-fitting piece connected to the main body part. Since the press-fitting guide piece is separated from the main body, it can absorb the positional shift of the short-circuit terminal with respect to the storage chamber at the initial press-fitting time, so that the operation of storing the short-circuit terminal in the storage chamber is smoothly performed. be able to.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, for example, a female connector that is used in an airbag circuit and includes a short-circuit terminal capable of short-circuiting between two female terminal fittings is shown. In the following, the right side in each figure (excluding FIG. 2) is the front, and the left is the back.
[0012]
The female connector 10 includes a female connector housing 11 (hereinafter simply referred to as a female housing 11) that can accommodate the female terminal fitting 20 and the short-circuit terminal 30, and the female housing 11 includes the female connector housing 11 as shown in FIGS. The cavity 12 that can accommodate the female terminal fitting 20 provided with the box portion 21 is formed side by side in the width direction of the two chambers, and the accommodation chamber 13 that can accommodate the short-circuit terminal 30 is provided below the cavity 12. . The lower surface sides of the front ends of both cavities 12 are formed in communication with the lower storage chamber 13, and the front lower surfaces of the box portions 21 of the female terminal fittings 20 inserted into the cavities 12 face the storage chamber 13. It has become so. A groove portion 14 is formed on the rear side of the cavity 12 on the lower surface side of the communicating portion with the accommodation chamber 13 so as to open to the front, and the rear end surface is cantilevered from the lower surface of the box portion 21 of the female terminal fitting 20. A lance 22 formed by cutting and raising can be locked. Further, the male terminal fitting 51 of the mating male connector 50 can enter from the front of the cavity 12 (see FIG. 6). The accommodation chamber 13 is formed to open toward the front, and the release rib 52 of the male connector 50 can enter from the front. The release rib 52 is inserted between the female terminal fitting 20 and the elastic contact piece 34 of the short-circuit terminal 30 so that the contact state between the two can be released.
[0013]
The short-circuit terminal 30 is formed into the shape shown in FIG. 3 by sequentially bending the metal plate cut out in the developed shape shown in FIG. 4 along the chain line shown in the figure. Specifically, the short-circuit terminal 30 folds back a pair of tongues 32 extending forward from the main body 31 shown in FIG. 4 and stands up side plates 33 respectively protruding from both side ends of the main body 31. By raising, the elastic contact piece 34, the press-fitting piece 39, and the pressing operation piece 40 are formed.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of elastic contact pieces 34 formed by folding the tongue piece 32 can be elastically oscillated and displaced in the vertical direction around the U-shaped folded portion on the front end side. . The elastic contact piece 34 extends substantially horizontally from the folded portion by a predetermined length from the upper surface of the main body 31 and then is bent so as to rise almost vertically, and its apex is bent again into a hairpin shape, Is formed so as to face obliquely downward. Of these, the apex portion is a contact portion 35 that is in contact with the lower surface of the box portion 21 of the female terminal fitting 20, and the vertical bent portion below that is a rising portion 36.
[0015]
A cantilevered locking piece 37 is cut out and formed at substantially the center in the width direction and the length direction of the main body 31. The locking piece 37 can be elastically oscillated and displaced in the vertical direction around the base end portion on the front end side, and the free end portion on the rear end side projects downward from the lower surface of the main body portion 31. It is arranged. On the other hand, a locking groove 15 is provided on the lower surface of the front end of the storage chamber 13 so as to open forward. When the short-circuit terminal 30 is stored in the storage chamber 13, the locking piece 37 is placed in the locking groove 15. The free end portion can be locked to the rear end surface of the locking groove 15.
[0016]
A pair of excessive deflection restricting protrusions 38 are formed by bulging upward (= direction approaching the elastic contact piece 34) at both sides of the main body 31 near the base end of the locking piece 37. ing. These excessive deflection restricting protrusions 38 are each formed over a predetermined length range, and are disposed at a position facing the rising portion 36 of the elastic contact piece 34. When the elastic contact piece 34 is elastically deformed downward, the excessive deflection restricting protrusion 38 is engaged with the rising portion 36 and can further restrict the displacement operation of the elastic contact piece 34. It is like that. The elastic contact piece 34 when engaged with the excessive deflection regulating projection 38 is in a state before the degree of deformation exceeds the elastic limit. In other words, the elastic contact piece 34 is engaged with the excessive deflection regulating projection 38. By joining, plastic deformation is prevented.
[0017]
4 is raised from the main body 31 and the side plate 33 on the back side in the figure is bent from the middle to the near side, and its front end is brought into contact with the rear end surface of the side plate 33 on the near side. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of press-fitting pieces 39 and a pressing operation piece 40 are formed so as to surround both elastic contact pieces 34. Both press-fitting pieces 39 are formed along the length direction of the main body portion 31 (= extending direction of the elastic contact piece 34), and the rear end thereof is formed to reach the rear side of the folded portion of the elastic contact piece 34. Yes. The pressing operation piece 40 is formed along the width direction of the main body 31 and is disposed at a position immediately after the folded portion of the elastic contact piece 34. When the short operation terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 13, the pressing operation piece 40 can be operated to press the rear end face from behind with a jig or the like.
[0018]
The press-fitting piece 39 will be described in detail. The press-fitting piece 39 is formed so that the rear part 42 (about 1/3 of the total length) is slightly higher than the front part 41 (about 2/3 of the total length). Are connected by a gentle guide surface 43 formed therebetween. The difference in height between the front part 41 and the rear part 42 of the press-fitting piece 39 is about ３ of the thickness of the metal plate. Further, the height positions of the rear portion 42 of the press-fitting piece 39 and the pressing operation piece 40 are made the same, and the height position of the portion of the elastic contact piece 34 between the folded portion and the rising portion 36 is substantially the same. It is considered as a height position. These press-fitting pieces 39 are respectively press-fitted into the press-fitting grooves 16 provided on both side edges of the storage chamber 13 as the short-circuit terminal 30 is stored in the storage chamber 13. Yes.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the press-fit groove 16 is formed by cutting out the side wall of the storage chamber 13, and the width dimension thereof is approximately the same as the plate thickness dimension of the press-fit piece 39. The height dimension of the press-fitting groove 16 is set to be the same as or slightly smaller than the height dimension of the front portion 41 of the press-fitting piece 39. As a result, the press-fitting piece 39 that enters the press-fitting groove 16 is held in a pressed state between the upper surface and the lower surface of the press-fitting groove 16. Further, the outer side surface of the press-fitting piece 39 is brought into sliding contact with the side surface of the press-fitting groove 16 during press-fitting.
[0020]
Between the front end portion of the side plate 33 forming the press-fitting piece 39 and the main body portion 31, as shown in FIG. 4, a groove having a predetermined width that opens forward is formed so as to be separated from each other. As shown in FIG. 3, a press-fitting guide piece 44 separated from the main body 31 is formed at the front end of the piece 39. The press-fitting guide piece 44 is formed so that the front end projects forward from the front end of the main body 31 and can be slightly oscillated and displaced elastically along the width direction (= direction perpendicular to the press-fitting direction). . The upper part of the front end of the press-fitting guide piece 44 is formed by notching diagonally so that a guide surface 45 is formed on the cut-out surface, and the press-fitting initial operation of the press-fitting piece 39 with respect to the press-fitting groove 16 is performed by the guide surface 45. Guided smoothly. A guide surface 46 is formed on the outer edge of the front end portion of the press-fitting guide piece 44.
[0021]
The present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. First, the operation of accommodating the short-circuit terminal 30 in the accommodation chamber 13 is performed. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear end surface of the pressing operation piece 40 of the short-circuit terminal 30 is pressed from behind with a jig or the like, and the short-circuit terminal 30 enters the housing chamber 13.
[0022]
Here, for example, even when the short-circuit terminal 30 is slightly displaced in the width direction with respect to the storage chamber 13, the press-fitting guide piece 44 is elastically deformed along the width direction and can absorb the deviation. Further, the press-fitting guide piece 44 smoothly enters the press-fitting groove 16 while being guided in the width direction and the height direction by the both guide surfaces 45 and 46. When the short-circuiting terminal 30 is pushed forward against the frictional resistance caused by the press-fitting guide piece 44 and the front portion 41 being sandwiched between the upper and lower surfaces of the press-fitting groove 16, the guide surface 43 of the press-fitting piece 39 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the press-fitting groove 16. By gradually biting in, the height dimension of the press-fitting groove 16 is expanded, and the subsequent press-fitting operation of the rear portion 42 of the press-fitting piece 39 is guided. The rear portion 42 of the press-fitting piece 39 is slidingly displaced forward while being sandwiched between the upper and lower surfaces of the press-fitting groove 16 whose height is expanded. The press-fitting operation is guided by the outer surface of the press-fitting piece 39 being in sliding contact with the side surface of the press-fitting groove 16.
[0023]
In this process, the elastic contact piece 34 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the storage chamber 13, and enters the storage chamber 13 while being bent downward and deformed. The locking piece 37 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the storage chamber 13 and enters the storage chamber 13 while being bent in a straight posture with the main body 31.
[0024]
When the short-circuit terminal 30 is pushed into the accommodation chamber 13 to the normal depth, the bent locking piece 37 returns and enters the locking groove 15 as shown in FIG. By engaging with the rear end surface, the displacement operation of the short-circuit terminal 30 in the pulling direction is restricted. Further, the elastic contact piece 34 that has been bent is elastically restored, and the contact portion 35 projects into the cavity 12 above the storage chamber 13. In this manner, the press-fitting piece 39 is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove 16, and the locking piece 37 is locked to the locking groove 15, whereby the short-circuit terminal 30 is held from the inside of the storage chamber 13. .
[0025]
Subsequently, when the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted into each cavity 12 and reaches the normal depth, the lance 22 is locked and the contact portion 35 of the elastic contact piece 34 contacts the lower surface of the box portion 21. Is done. As a result, the potential difference between the female terminal fittings 20 is kept at 0 (see FIG. 2). At this time, the elastic contact piece 34 is bent by the box portion 21.
[0026]
When the mating male connector 50 is fitted to the female connector 10 assembled in this way, the mating male terminal fitting 51 is connected to the female terminal fitting 20 and released as shown in FIG. The rib 52 is engaged with the elastic contact piece 34 and bent so that the elastic contact piece 34 is separated from the female terminal fitting 20, thereby releasing the short-circuit state between the female terminal fittings 20.
[0027]
By the way, for example, when a foreign object enters from the front of the storage chamber 13 and the elastic contact piece 34 is excessively bent by the foreign object, the bent elastic contact piece 34 is engaged with the excessive bending regulating protrusion 38. By being combined, further bending deformation is regulated. Thereby, the elastic contact piece 34 can be prevented from being excessively bent and plastically deformed.
[0028]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the width dimension of the press-fitting groove 16 is equal to the plate thickness dimension of the press-fitting piece 39, so that the increase in the size of the storage chamber 13 in the width direction can be suppressed as much as possible.
By the way, in the multipolar female connector, innumerable cavities are arranged in parallel in the width direction, and the accommodation chambers may be arranged in parallel in the width direction of a plurality of chambers. When the pitch between the cavities is reduced in order to reduce the size of the female connector, the pitch between the storage chambers needs to be correspondingly reduced. Therefore, it is possible to meet the demand for such downsizing.
[0029]
Since the guide surfaces 45 and 46 are formed at the front end of the press-fitting guide piece 44, the initial operation when the press-fitting guide piece 44 is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove 16 is guided in the width direction and the height direction. be able to. In addition, since the guide surface 43 is formed between the front part 41 and the rear part 42 having different height dimensions in the press-fitting piece 39, the rear part 42 when the press-fitting piece 39 is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove 16 is formed. The operation can be guided. By providing the guide surfaces 43, 45, 46 on the press-fitting piece 39 in this way, it is possible to guide the press-fitting operation of the press-fitting piece 39 into the press-fitting groove 16, thereby bringing the short-circuit terminal 30 into the accommodating chamber 13. The storing operation can be performed smoothly. Further, since the press-fitting guide piece 44 separated from the main body 31 is provided on the front end side of the press-fitting piece 39, it is possible to absorb the positional deviation of the short-circuit terminal 30 with respect to the containing chamber 13, and to smoothly carry out the accommodating work. It can be carried out.
[0030]
Moreover, since the locking piece 37 is locked to the rear end surface of the locking groove 15, in addition to the press-fitting piece 39 being press-fitted and held in the press-fitting groove 16, it is possible to more firmly prevent the short-circuit terminal 30 from coming off. Can do.
Further, since the excessive deflection regulating protrusion 38 is formed by bulging out the main body 31, for example, the excessive deflection regulating piece is formed by raising the main body 31 or the press-fitting piece 39. Compared to the case, the strength of the short-circuit terminal 30 can be kept high.
[0031]
<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the short-circuit terminal that short-circuits the two female terminal fittings is shown. However, if the elastic contact pieces are provided as many as the number of the short-circuiting terminal fittings, the number is arbitrarily set. Such a thing is also included in the present invention.
[0032]
(2) In the above embodiment, the front end side of the press-fitting piece is provided with the press-fitting guide piece separated from the main body part. However, the front end part of the press-fitting piece is connected to the main body part. Are also included in the present invention.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the locking piece and the locking groove for preventing the short-circuit terminal from being provided is shown, but the short-circuiting terminal is press-fitted into the press-fitting groove. Since the primary retaining means is provided, the retaining pieces and the retaining grooves which are secondary retaining means may be omitted, and such a structure is also included in the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a female connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the female connector. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a short terminal. 5] Partial side sectional view showing a state before the short terminal is accommodated in the accommodating chamber. [FIG. 6] Partial side sectional view showing a state in which male and female connectors are fitted.
10 ... Female housing (connector housing)
13 ... accommodating chamber 15 ... locking groove (locking means)
16 ... Press-fit groove 20 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
30 ... Short terminal 31 ... Main body 33 ... Side plate 34 ... Elastic contact piece (contact piece)
37 ... locking piece (locking means)
39 ... Press-fit pieces 43, 45, 46 ... Guide surface 44 ... Press-fit guide pieces

Claims (4)

The connector housing is provided with a plurality of terminal fittings arranged side by side in the width direction, and provided with a plurality of contact pieces that can contact each terminal fitting and can be elastically deformed along the height direction. In what is provided with a storage chamber in which a short-circuit terminal capable of short-circuiting between metal fittings is stored,
Wherein the short-circuit terminal, press-fitting piece is provided which extends along the height direction, the press-fit groove provided in a form that the press-fitting piece extends along Oite the height direction at a side edge of the accommodating chamber It comes to be press-fitted ,
The short-circuit terminal includes a main body portion extending in the width direction in a flat plate shape,
The contact piece is configured to protrude from the main body portion in the height direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the width direction, and the press-fitting pieces are in the same direction as the contact pieces from both side ends of the main body portion. A connector characterized in that it is integrally provided on a side plate that is raised and extends along the height direction .   The connector according to claim 1, wherein a guide surface capable of guiding a press-fitting operation with respect to the press-fitting groove is formed on the press-fitting piece.   2. The locking device according to claim 1, wherein the short-circuit terminal and the storage chamber are provided with locking means capable of regulating displacement of the short-circuit terminal in a pulling direction by being locked to each other. Item 2. The connector according to item 2. The press-fit forward end side with respect to the press-fitting groove of the housing chamber before Symbol press-fitting piece, one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that press-fitting guide pieces separated from the main body portion is provided with Connector described in.

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