JP4550305B2 - Shield connector for device connection - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a shield connector for connecting, for example, a shielded wire used for in-vehicle wiring of an electric vehicle to an electric device or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 8 shows a conventional shield connector. This shield connector is used, for example, for watertight connection of the shielded electric wire 12 to the electric device 10 installed inside the automobile. The shield connector includes a male connector 14 and a female connector 16 that can be fitted to each other. The male connector 14 is attached to the electric device 10 and the female connector 16 is attached to the end of the shielded electric wire 12. The main body (not shown) of the electric device 10 is accommodated in a shield case 10a made by aluminum die casting or the like. The shielded electric wire 12 has a core wire 12a, an insulating layer 12b, a shield layer 12c, and a sheath 12d.
[0003]
The male connector 14 has a male housing 18 made of an engineering plastic such as PBT (polybutylene terephthalate). A thin plate made of a conductive metal such as a copper alloy is formed in a cylindrical shape on the inner surface of the male housing 18. The shield pipe 20 is firmly fixed. The shield pipe 20 has an elastic piece 20a which is widened so as to come into contact with the shield case 10a on the rear end side. A terminal holder 22 made of an engineering plastic such as PBT is firmly fixed to the rear end side of the shield pipe 20, and a male terminal 24 formed of a plate made of copper alloy or the like is firmly held on the terminal holder 22. ing. The male housing 18 has a flange portion 18a on the rear end side, and a seal ring 26 made of silicone rubber or the like is attached to the end surface of the flange portion 18a.
[0004]
The male connector 14 configured as described above is fixed to the electrical device 10 by screwing a bolt (not shown) with the bolt hole 18b of the flange portion 18a aligned with the female screw hole 10b of the shield case 10a. The As a result, the shield pipe 20 and the shield case 10a are electrically connected via the elastic piece 20a, and the male housing 18 and the shield case 10a are sealed watertight by the seal ring 26.
[0005]
Next, the female connector 16 will be described in the order of assembly. A ring-shaped wire seal member 28 made of silicone rubber or the like and a ring-shaped retainer 30 made of an engineering plastic such as PBT are inserted on the shield wire 12 in advance. The wire seal member 28 and the retainer 30 are slidable in the longitudinal direction of the shielded wire 12. Next, a shield ring 32 made of a conductive metal such as brass is crimped onto the shield layer 12c exposed at the end of the shielded electric wire 12, and a female terminal 34 is crimped to the core 12a.
[0006]
Thereafter, the female terminal 34 is inserted into the female housing 36. Then, the female terminal 34 is locked inside the female housing 36 by the housing lance 36a. A cylindrical shield pipe 38 made of a conductive metal such as a copper alloy is integrally provided in the female housing 36 by an insert mold. When the female terminal 34 is inserted into the female housing 36, the outer peripheral portion of the shield ring 32 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the shield pipe 38. As a result, the shield layer 12 c of the shielded electric wire 12 and the shield pipe 38 of the female housing 36 are electrically connected via the shield ring 32.
[0007]
Next, the wire seal member 28 inserted through the outer periphery of the wire is pulled back and disposed at the position shown in the figure, and the retainer 30 is pulled back and attached to the female housing 36. This attachment is performed by hooking the lock arm 30a of the retainer 30 to the locking projection 36b of the female housing 36. Thereby, the space between the shielded electric wire 12 and the female housing 36 is sealed in a watertight manner. Thus, the assembly of the female connector 16 is completed. The female housing 36 is provided with a ring-shaped housing seal member 40 that seals the space between the male housing 18 and the male housing 18 in a watertight manner.
[0008]
When the female connector 16 configured as described above is fitted to the male connector 14 attached to the shield case 10a as described above, the lock arm 36c of the female housing 36 is caught by the locking projection 18c of the male housing 18. The female connector 16 cannot be pulled out. Thus, the space between the female housing 36 and the male housing 18 is sealed by the housing seal member 40. Further, the shield pipe 38 of the female housing 36 and the shield pipe 20 of the male housing 18 come into contact with each other, and the female terminal 34 and the male terminal 24 are fitted. As a result, the shield layer 12c of the shielded electric wire 12 is electrically connected to the shield case 10a of the electric device 10, and the shielded electric wire 12 is connected to the electric device 10 in a watertight manner.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional shield connector, the shield layer 12c of the shielded electric wire is connected to the shield case 10a of the electrical device through the shield ring 32, the female shield pipe 38, and the male shield pipe 20 in this order. Among the connection points between these parts, the connection point between the shield ring 32 and the female shield pipe 38 and the connection point between the female shield pipe 38 and the male shield pipe 20 are included in the other pipe. A slightly smaller diameter pipe is inserted and connected by rubbing. Both pipes have external dimensions and internal dimensions, regardless of whether the shape is cylindrical or rectangular. Must be made precisely. If there is an error in these dimensions, it will be impossible to insert or a gap will be formed between the pipes, resulting in poor contact. Further, since the conventional shield connector has a large number of parts, the cost is increased.
[0010]
In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to simplify the electrical connection between the shield layer of the shielded wire and the shield case of the electrical device, reduce the number of parts, and reduce the cost. To provide a connector.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the shield connector for equipment connection of the present invention includes a female connector having a female terminal that is crimped to a core wire of a shielded electric wire, and a male connector having a male terminal connected to the female terminal; The male connector has a male housing attached to a shield case of an electric device, and the female connector has one end side electrically connected to the shield layer of the shielded electric wire and the other end side connected to the electric device. A substantially annular shield spring that is electrically connected to the shield case by spring elasticity, and the male housing of the male connector includes an inner housing attached to the inside of the shield case, and the shield An outer housing attached to the outside of the case, and the inner housing and the outer housing are formed in the shield case. And the internal space communicates through the through hole, inserting a female connector to the inner space, the female connector of the shield spring is adapted to contact the shield case, it is characterized in.
[0013]
In the shield connector for connecting devices according to the present invention, a rubber packing for watertight sealing between the shield case and the outer housing of the male connector is sandwiched between the inner periphery of the rubber packing. It is preferable to be sandwiched between the shield case and the female housing of the female connector so as to seal between the two in a watertight manner.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a shield connector for connecting devices according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereof. In the figure, 10 is an electric device, 10a is a shield case of the electric device 10, 12 is a shielded electric wire, 14 is a male connector, and 16 is a female connector. Neither the male connector 14 nor the female connector 16 uses a conventional shield pipe.
[0016]
The male connector 14, as shown in Figure 3, the inner housing 50A mounted to the inside of the shield case 10a of the electric device, projecting rear end is fixed and supported the contact portion of the inner housing 50A is in the inner housing 50A And a first rubber packing 52 that is sandwiched between the shield case 10a and the outer housing 50B and seals between the two in a water-tight manner. Has been. The inner housing 50A has a generally rectangular tube shape, and the outer housing 50B has a generally cylindrical shape.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, the inner housing 50A and the outer housing 50B are fixed to the shield case 10a by sandwiching the shield case 10a and the first rubber packing 52 between both end faces and tightening them with bolts 54 and nuts 56. Is done. The inner spaces of the inner housing 50A and the outer housing 50B communicate with each other through a through hole 58 (see FIG. 3) formed in the shield case 10a, and the female connector 16 is inserted into the inner space. That is, the inner housing 50A and the outer housing 50B are integrated to form a male housing of the male connector 14, and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 58 of the shield case 10a is exposed in the male housing. It becomes.
[0018]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the female connector 16 includes a female housing 60, a substantially annular shield spring 62, a female terminal 34, a shield ring 64, a stationary ring 66, a second rubber packing 68, and the like. The female housing 60 is an integrally molded product, and the front end side (portion inserted into the inner housing 50A of the male connector) has a generally rectangular tube shape, and the rear end side (portion inserted into the outer housing 50B) has a substantially cylindrical shape. It is. The female housing 60 has a stepped portion 70 in the middle in the axial direction because the outer dimension of the cylindrical rear end is larger than that of the front end of the rectangular tube.
[0019]
The configuration of the female connector 16 will be described according to the assembly order as follows. First, the end portion of the shielded electric wire 12 is stepped so that the core wire 12a and the shield layer (braid) 12c are exposed for a predetermined length. A second rubber packing 68 is inserted through the outer circumference of the shielded electric wire 12 in advance. Next, the shield ring 64 is attached to the end of the shielded electric wire 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the shield ring 64 has a large number of elastic contact pieces 64b folded outward on the tip side of the cylindrical portion 64a, and is made of a conductive metal plate such as brass. The shield ring 64 is attached so that the cylindrical portion 64a is inserted inside the shield layer 12c (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Next, a stationary ring 66 made of a conductive metal is pressure-bonded from above the shield layer 12 c to fix the shield ring 64 to the electric wire 12. Next, the female terminal 34 is crimped to the core wire 12a of the shielded electric wire.
[0020]
On the other hand, a shield spring 62 is incorporated in the female housing 60.
As shown in FIG. 6, the shield spring 62 has an elastic contact piece 62b folded inward on the rear end side of the annular portion 62a, and a connecting piece 62c extending in the axial direction on the distal end side of the annular portion 62a. It has a locking piece 62d. The connecting piece 62c has an elastic contact portion 62e folded outward at the tip portion, and the locking piece 62d has a cut-and-raised portion 62f for locking. The connecting pieces 62c and the locking pieces 62d are alternately formed at 90 ° intervals. When such a shield spring 62 is incorporated in the female housing 60, the elastic contact portion 62e at the tip of the connection piece 62c penetrates the stepped portion 70 of the female housing 60 and protrudes on the outer peripheral surface of the rectangular tube portion of the female housing 60. (See FIG. 1), the cut-and-raised portion 62f of the locking piece 62d is engaged with the inner surface of the female housing 60, and the shield spring 62 is held in the female housing 60 (see FIG. 2).
[0021]
After assembling as described above, the female connector 34 is inserted into the female housing 60 as far as it will go. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing lance 72 falls into the recess of the female terminal 34 so that the female connector 34 cannot be pulled out, and the elastic contact piece 62b of the shield spring 62 comes into contact with the elastic contact piece 64b of the shield ring 64. The shield spring 62 and the shield layer 12c of the electric wire are electrically connected, and the second rubber packing 68 is pushed into the rear end of the female housing 60 to seal the space between the female housing 60 and the shielded electric wire 12 in a watertight manner. . This completes the assembly of the female connector 16.
[0022]
When the female connector 16 assembled as described above is fitted to the male connector 14 fixed to the shield case 10a of the electrical equipment, the female terminal 34 and the male terminal 24 are fitted to each other as shown in FIG. Connected to. Further, the elastic contact portion 62e on the distal end side of the shield spring 62 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 58 of the shield case 10a, whereby the shield layer 12c of the electric wire is connected to the shield case 10a via the shield ring 64 and the shield spring 62. Is electrically connected. Further, the stepped portion 70 of the female housing 60 abuts against the inner peripheral portion of the first rubber packing 52, and the space between the female housing 60 and the shield case 10a is sealed in a watertight manner. That is, the first rubber packing 52 has a function of watertightly sealing between the shield case 10a and the outer housing 50B of the male connector, and a function of watertightly sealing between the shield case 10a and the female housing 60. Have both. In the state in which the male connector 14 and the female connector 16 are fitted, as shown in FIG. 2, the locking protrusions 74 formed on both side surfaces of the outer housing 50B and the elastic locking arms 76 formed on the female housing 60. Are engaged so that the fitted state is maintained.
[0023]
Embodiment 2 FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is of such a size that it can be inserted into the inner side of the shield layer 12c of the electric wire on the rear end side of the shield spring 62 provided with the elastic contact portion 62e for contacting the shield case on the front end side. A cylindrical portion 62g is formed, and the fixed ring 66 is pressure-bonded from above the shield layer 12c in a state where the cylindrical portion 62g is inserted inside the shield layer 12c. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. In this way, since the shield spring 62 can be directly attached to the shielded electric wire 12, the shield ring 64 used in the first embodiment can be omitted, and it is not necessary to form the locking piece 62d on the shield spring 62.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the shield layer of the shielded electric wire is connected to the shield case of the electric device by the shield spring, the number of parts required for connection of the shield system is greatly reduced compared to the prior art. Reliability is improved. Further, the structure is simplified and the dimensional tolerance can be loosened, so that the cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a shield connector for connecting devices according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is also a vertical sectional view.
3 is an exploded perspective view of the shield connector of FIG. 1 on the male connector side.
4 is an exploded perspective view of the shield connector of FIG. 1 on the female connector side.
5A is a half-cut side view and FIG. 5B is a front view of a shield ring attached to a shielded wire in the shield connector of FIG. 1;
6A is a front view, FIG. 6B is a vertical sectional view, FIG. 6C is a rear view, and FIG. 6D is a partially cutaway side view of a shield spring incorporated in a female connector in the shield connector of FIG. Figure.
FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment of the shield connector for connecting devices according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional shield connector for connecting devices.
[Explanation of symbols]
10: Electrical equipment
10a: Shield case
12: Shielded wire
14: Male connector
16: Female connector
24: Male terminal
34: Female terminal
50A: Inner housing
50B: Outer housing
52: First rubber packing
58: Through hole
60: Female housing
62: Shield spring
64: Shield ring
66: Fixed ring
68: Second rubber packing
70: Stepped part

Claims (2)

A female connector having a female terminal crimped to the core wire of the shielded wire, and a male connector having a male terminal connected to the female terminal;
The male connector has a male housing attached to a shield case of an electrical device,
The female connector has a substantially annular shield spring whose one end is electrically connected to the shield layer of the shielded electric wire and the other end is electrically connected to the shield case of the electric device by spring elasticity. And
The male housing of the male connector includes an inner housing attached to the inner side of the shield case and an outer housing attached to the outer side of the shield case, and the inner housing and the outer housing are through holes formed in the shield case. and the internal space communicates through, inserting a female connector to the inner space, equipment connection shielded connector you characterized in that the female connector of the shield spring is brought into contact with the shield case. A rubber packing for watertight sealing between the shield case and the outer housing of the male connector is sandwiched between the shield case and the female housing of the female connector. 2. The shield connector for connecting devices according to claim 1 , wherein the shield connector is sandwiched between the two to seal water tightly.

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