JP5241312B2 - Photo sensor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a photosensor incorporating an optical element such as a light emitting element or a light receiving element.

In order to connect an optical element to an external power supply circuit or detection circuit to function electrically, the optical element is generally mounted on the board and a connector that can be plugged into the end of the external cable is attached to the board. Soldering between an optical element and a connector is performed (Patent Document 1). In addition, in order to eliminate the need for soldering and to reduce the number of processes, a sensor in which an optical element and a connector are integrated without a substrate is also commercially available (Non-Patent Document 1).
Regardless of whether it is a board-mounted type or a connector-integrated type, in order to connect to a circuit, it is necessary to attach a plug to be connected to the connector to the tip of the external cable in advance.
JP 2006-129692 A, FIG. 9 and FIG. SUNX TOP> Product Information> Beam Sensor (Photoelectric Sensor) Index, [online], April 16, 2008, Sunkus Corporation, Internet <URL: http://sunx.jp/japanese/products/photoelectric/pm/index .html>

However, since sensor manufacturers are usually different from circuit manufacturers, in conventional photosensors, the circuit manufacturer must prepare a plug that matches each connector, or the sensor manufacturer can attach a connector that matches each plug. It had to be left behind and was inefficient.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a photosensor that does not require soldering and does not require a circuit manufacturer to prepare a plug.

In order to solve the problem, the photosensor of the present invention is
In a photo sensor that incorporates a pair of optical elements composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged to face each other and detects the presence or absence of an object between the optical elements,
A plurality of terminals having one end electrically connected to any one of the optical elements and the other end extending freely in the same direction;
A first opening for exposing free ends of the plurality of terminals; a second opening for receiving an object between the optical elements; and a body molded around the optical element to hold the optical element; ,
A cable holder that can be inserted from the first opening to a predetermined position in the main body with the tip of the cable and that contacts the outer peripheral surface near the tip of the cable to the free end of the terminal when inserted to the predetermined position; It is characterized by providing.

According to this photosensor, when the end of the cable is inserted into the main body through the first opening and the cable holder is subsequently inserted, the outer peripheral surface near the end of the cable comes into contact with the free end of the terminal. As a result, they are electrically connected. Even when the cable is covered with an insulating resin, the free end of the terminal can break the coating resin when the cable holder is pressed to the extent that the cable holder is inserted to the predetermined position and pierces the wire core near the tip of the cable. When sharply processed, electrical connection is possible without peeling off the insulating resin.
The cable holder preferably has a holding hole for holding the tip of the cable in a direction perpendicular to the terminal and a terminal hole for guiding the free end of the terminal to the holding hole. This is because the end of the cable is surely accompanied by the cable holder during insertion of the cable holder, and the outer peripheral surface near the end of the cable is surely pressed against the free end of the terminal.

The main body includes, for example, an element case that includes a second opening and is molded around the optical element to hold the optical element, and a housing that includes the first opening and is connected to the element case and into which the cable holder can be inserted. It consists of
In addition, when the cable holder has an elastic member on the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole that elastically resists the pressure that the cable receives from the free end of the terminal when the cable holder is inserted to a fixed position, the free end of the terminal is connected to the cable. It is possible to prevent the cable from being cut too deeply.

  More preferably, in the photosensor, the terminal has an elongated pin electrically connected to one of the optical elements, a sandwiching portion that elastically sandwiches the tip of the pin on one side, and a wide width on the other side. And a flat contact blade having a pressure contact portion. Normally, the terminal attached to the optical element is a pin, but the contact blade elastically sandwiches the tip of the pin, so that it can correspond to pins having various cross-sectional areas. And since the press-contact part is wide, it is because electrical connection with a cable becomes more reliable than the case where a pin is press-contacted directly. Here, “wide” means that when the cross section of the pin is circular, it is larger than its diameter, and when it is rectangular, it is larger than the side in the optical path direction. In this case, the main body includes an element case that includes a second opening and is molded around the optical element to hold the optical element, and includes a first opening and is connected to the element case to allow insertion of the cable holder. And a housing that maintains the shape of the contact blade.

  In a preferred combination of the cable holder and the housing, the cable holder has claws protruding outward on opposite side surfaces, the housing guides the claws on the inner peripheral surface in the insertion direction of the cable holder, and the rail A stopper is provided at the rear end to prevent the claw from retreating, and the claw is elastically deformed so as to irreversibly get over the stopper and ride on the rail. Since the rail guides the claw, it is sufficient to loosely fit the outer peripheral surface of the cable holder and the inner peripheral surface of the housing, minimizing the friction between each other, and the stopper prevents the claw from retracting, This is because it is possible to prevent the cable from moving backward due to the reaction force received from the terminal and causing poor conduction.

  The terminal preferably has a bent portion. This is because even if the cable holder is pushed in strongly, the bending portion absorbs excessive pressure during pressure contact, and damage to the element is prevented. When the terminal is composed of the pin and the contact blade as described above, the bent portion is formed on the pin.

  Since soldering is not required, the environment is not deteriorated and the manufacturing cost can be reduced on the sensor manufacturer side. Since it is not necessary for the circuit manufacturing company to prepare a plug, the manufacturing cost of the finished product can be reduced.

Embodiment 1
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view showing a photosensor according to the first embodiment.
The photosensor 1 includes a pair of optical elements 2 including a light-emitting element 2a and a light-receiving element 2b that are arranged vertically so as to face each other with a space therebetween, so that they can be electrically connected to an external cable W. Two or more elongated terminals 3a and 3b, a main body 4 and a cable holder 8 are provided.

  The terminals 3a and 3b have one end fixed to the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b so that they do not overlap each other in a plan view (not shown), and the other ends are freely extended in the same direction. The main body 4 is molded in a square tube shape so as to be longer than the total length of the optical element 2 and the terminals 3a and 3b around the optical element 2 arranged in opposition. And it has the 1st opening 4a which exposes the free end of terminal 3a, 3b in the axial direction both ends, and the 2nd opening 4b which receives a detection target object between the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b, respectively. The optical element 2 is held on the inner peripheral surface close to 4b. The inner peripheral surface from the vicinity of the free ends of the terminals 3a and 3b in the main body 4 to the first opening 4a forms a space in which the cable holder 8 can slide.

  The cable holder 8 has a groove 8a for individually guiding a plurality of cables W electrically connected to any one of the optical elements 2 on the upper surface, and a trapezoid rotated 90 degrees in the axial cross-sectional view on the distal end surface. Two protrusions 8b are formed. When the cable holder 8 is press-fitted from the opening 4a with the cables W extending along the grooves 8a so as to protrude beyond the protrusions 8b, the cables W move forward with the cable holders 8 and the cables W droop. As shown in the figure, the outer peripheral surfaces of the portions that are in contact with the free ends of the terminals 3a and 3b, respectively. When press-fitting in succession, the outer peripheral surface of the cable W is pressed into contact with the free ends of the terminals 3a and 3b, and the free ends of the terminals 3a and 3b are pierced into the wire cores of the cables W as shown by imaginary lines in the figure. Electrically connected.

  In the sensor 1, when the detection target does not exist in the optical path between the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b, the element 2b receives light from the element 2a, and the detection target enters between the elements 2a and 2b through the opening 4b. The presence of an object is detected by not receiving light.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view showing the photosensor according to the first embodiment.
The photo sensor 11 electrically connects a pair of optical elements 2 to an external cable W as in the first embodiment, except that the arrangement of the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b is upside down from the first embodiment in the drawing. It is built in a possible manner and includes two or more elongated terminals 13a and 13b, a main body 14 and a cable holder 18.

  The terminals 13a and 13b have free ends extending in the same direction, but unlike the first embodiment, the terminals 13a and 13b have two right-angled bending points at a position slightly away from the optical element 2 and are at the first angle. It bends in the direction approaching each other at the bending point and extends longer in the direction away from the optical element 2 than the next bending point. The cable holder 18 has a plurality of holding holes 18a for holding each end of the cable W in a direction orthogonal to the terminals 13a and 13b, and free ends of the terminals 13a and 13b formed on the side surfaces of the holding holes 18a. For each terminal is formed with a terminal hole 18b for guiding it to the holding hole 18a.

  The holding hole 18a has an inlet for the cable W at the upper end and a bottom at the lower end. Two terminal holes 18b are formed above and below each holding hole 18b, and the terminals are inserted into the upper (lower) terminal holes in the same row as the terminal holes into which the terminals on the light emitting (light receiving) element side are inserted. Instead, one terminal is associated with one cable. However, when the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b have common terminals connected to the same cable, the common terminals are inserted into the upper and lower terminal holes of the same row. A leaf spring 7 for biasing the outer peripheral surface of the cable W toward the element 2 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole 18a facing the terminal hole 18b.

  The main body 14 includes two elements, the element case 5 and the housing 6. The element case 5 has a rectangular tube shape and has an opening 4b for receiving a detection target at the front end, is molded around the optical element 2 to hold the optical element 2, and has a terminal 13a on the inner peripheral surface of the rear half. Surrounds 13b. The housing 6 has a square cylindrical shape in which the outer peripheral surface of the front half is complementary to the inner peripheral surface of the rear half of the element case 5, and has an opening 4 a through which the cable holder 18 can be inserted and the free ends of the terminals 13 a and 13 b are exposed. . The element case 5 and the housing 6 are connected by fitting the front half of the housing 6 to the latter half of the element case 5, and the claw 6 a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 6 with the claw hole 5 a formed in the element case 5. This is done by engaging.

  The inner peripheral surface of the housing 6 is complementary to the outer peripheral surface of the cable holder 18 in the rear half, and the front half is slightly narrower than that, and a step 6b is formed at the boundary between the two. Therefore, when the cable holder 18 is inserted into the housing 6 through the opening 4a, the cable holder 18 is stopped at the position of the step 6b.

  In the sensor 11, when the cable holder 8 is press-fitted into the housing 6 through the opening 4 a in a state where each cable W is inserted into the predetermined holding hole 18 a until the tip comes into contact with the bottom, each cable W advances along with the cable holder 8. Then, the outer peripheral surface of each cable W is pressed against the free end of the terminal 3a (or 3b), and the free end of the terminal 3a (3b) is stuck in the corresponding core of the cable W as shown by the imaginary line in the figure. Each is electrically connected. Since the terminals 3a and 3b have bending points, the optical element 2 is not damaged.

Embodiment 3
3A is a front view showing a photosensor according to the third embodiment, FIG. 3B is a right side view, FIG. 4 is a vertical (axial) sectional view, and FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view. It is. 6A and 6B show a combination of a housing and a cable holder used in this photosensor, wherein FIG. 6A is a front view, FIG. 6B is a plan view, FIG. 6C is a left side view, and FIG. . FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the position of the cutting line in FIG.
The photosensor 21 electrically connects the pair of optical elements 2 to the external cable W as in the first embodiment except that the arrangement of the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b is upside down from the first embodiment in the drawing. It is built in a possible manner and includes a plurality of terminals, a main body 24 and a cable holder 28.

  In this embodiment, the terminals are connected to two elongated pins 23a attached to the light emitting element 2a, four elongated pins 23b attached to the light receiving element 2b, and one or both of these six pins 5. It is composed of a single flat contact blade 9. Only one of the pins 23a (second from the right in FIG. 4) and one of the pins 23b (on the right in FIG. 4) are connected to the same contact blade 9, and the light emitting element 2a and the light receiving element 2b. Functions as a common terminal. The pins 23a and 23b have a rectangular section with the short side in the vertical direction and the long side in the horizontal direction, and the free ends of the pins 23a and 23b extend in the same direction as in the second embodiment, and are slightly separated from the optical element 2. It has two bending points.

  The contact blades 9 are formed at a low cost by punching a flat metal plate that is thinner than the outer diameter of the cable W and the long sides of the pins 23a, 23b. Two pairs of fingers (clamping portions) 9a, 9b that elastically pinch the pins 23a, 23b on the side of the pin, and a blade (pressure contact) that is much wider than the short sides of the pins 23a, 23b at the substantially vertical center on the other side Part) 9c. A guide 9 d extending in the same direction is integrally formed between the fingers 9 a and 9 b and plays a role of guiding and fixing when the contact blade 9 is combined with the housing 16. The contact blade 9 sandwiches the pin 23a (23b) corresponding to only one of the upper and lower fingers 9a (9b) except for the one that functions as the common terminal.

  In the cable holder 28, instead of the terminal hole 18b in the second embodiment, one guide hole 28d for guiding the blade 9c to the cable W is formed in each row. In addition, the cable holder 28 has a pair of outer side surfaces (the front face in FIG. 6A and the back face not shown) at a position close to the rear end in the vertical direction, and in the middle in the vertical direction. A total of three to six claws are formed at a pair of positions. Of each pair of claws, the front claw 28e is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6D, and the rear claw 28f is shown in FIGS. 3A, 5, 6A, 6B, and 6. It is shown in (c).

  The main body 24 is composed of two bodies: an element case 5 having the same shape and quality as in the second embodiment, and a housing 16 having the same outer shape as that in the second embodiment. The housing 16 holds each contact blade 9 individually in the middle part between the fingers 9a and 9b and the blade 9c in the front half, surrounds the fingers 9a and 9b in pairs, and can insert a cable holder 28 at the rear end. A large opening 4a. The connection method between the element case 5 and the housing 16 is the same as that in the second embodiment. Groove-shaped rails 16c that guide the claws 28e and 28f of the cable holder 28 in the front-rear direction are integrally formed on both inner side surfaces of the housing 16, respectively. A stopper 16d that engages with the claws 28e and 28f is formed on the end face of the opening 4a on the rail 16c. The inner peripheral surface of the housing 6 is complementary to the outer peripheral surface of the cable holder 28 in the rear half, and the front half is solid except for the holding space of the contact blade 9 and the surrounding space of the fingers 9a and 9b.

  Therefore, when the cable holder 28 is inserted into the housing 16 through the opening 4a, the cable holder 28 is stopped at the rear end surface of the front half of the housing 16. The claws 28e and 28f prevent the cable holder 28 from retreating step by step. That is, the front claw 28e prevents the cable holder 28 from coming out of the housing 16 in a state where the cable W is not yet pressed against the blade 9c, and the rear claw 28f is the reaction received by the cable W from the blade 9c after being pressed. Retreats by force and prevents continuity failure.

  When the sensor 21 is used, the cable holder 28 is inserted in advance through the opening 4a to a position between the claw 28e and the claw 28f. At the time of insertion, the claw 28e is elastically deformed and gets over the stopper 16d. Then, each cable W is inserted into a predetermined holding hole 28a until the tip contacts the bottom (FIG. 4). When the cable holder 28 is strongly pushed into the housing 16 in this state, the claw 28f is elastically deformed and gets over the stopper 16d. At the same time, each cable W advances along with the cable holder 28, the outer peripheral surface of each cable W is pressed against the corresponding blade 9c, and the blade 9c is inserted into the wire core of the cable W as shown in FIG. Connected. Since the pins 23a and 23b have bending points, the optical element 2 is not damaged. Since the claw 28f is engaged with the stopper 16d, the cable W is not retracted by the reaction force from the blade 9c due to the pressure contact, and the cable W is reliably connected.

2 is an axial cross-sectional view showing the photosensor according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is an axial sectional view showing a photosensor according to a second embodiment. (A) is a front view which shows the photosensor which concerns on Embodiment 3, (b) is a right view similarly. It is a vertical direction (axial direction) sectional drawing similarly. It is a horizontal direction sectional view similarly. The housing and cable holder combination used for the photosensor of Embodiment 3 is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a left side view, and (d) is a right side view. . It is a figure which shows the position of the cutting line of FIG. It is a vertical direction sectional view showing the usage state of the photosensor of Embodiment 3.

Explanation of symbols

1, 11, 21 Photosensor 2 Optical element 2a Light emitting element 2b Light receiving element 4, 14, 24 Body 5, 15 Element case 6, 16 Housing 7 Leaf spring 8, 18, 28 Cable holder

Claims (9)

In a photo sensor that incorporates a pair of optical elements composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged to face each other and detects the presence or absence of an object between the optical elements,
A plurality of terminals having one end electrically connected to any one of the optical elements and the other end extending freely in the same direction;
A first opening for exposing free ends of the plurality of terminals; a second opening for receiving an object between the optical elements; and a body molded around the optical element to hold the optical element; ,
A cable holder that can be inserted from the first opening to a predetermined position in the main body with the tip of the cable and that contacts the outer peripheral surface near the tip of the cable to the free end of the terminal when inserted to the predetermined position; A photosensor comprising:   2. The photosensor according to claim 1, wherein the free end of the terminal is sharpened to such an extent that the free end of the terminal is inserted into a wire core near the tip of the cable when the cable holder is inserted to the predetermined position.   2. The photosensor according to claim 1, wherein the cable holder includes a holding hole that holds the tip of the cable in a direction orthogonal to the terminal, and a terminal hole that guides the free end of the terminal to the holding hole.   An element case that includes a second opening and is molded around the optical element to hold the optical element; a housing that includes the first opening and is connected to the element case and into which the cable holder can be inserted; The photosensor according to claim 1, comprising:   2. The photosensor according to claim 1, wherein the cable holder has an elastic member on an inner peripheral surface of the holding hole that elastically resists a pressure that the cable receives from a free end of the terminal when the cable holder is inserted to the predetermined position. A flat contact in which the terminal has an elongated pin electrically connected to one of the optical elements, a sandwiching portion that elastically sandwiches the tip of the pin on one side, and a wide pressure contact portion on the other side Consisting of blades,
The main body includes a second opening and is molded around the optical element to hold the optical element; and the main body includes the first opening and is connected to the element case to allow the cable holder to be inserted. The photosensor according to claim 1, further comprising a housing that maintains a shape of the contact blade.   7. The photosensor according to claim 6, wherein tips of the pins do not overlap each other in a plan view, and the contact blades have a plurality of holding portions, and any one of the holding portions holds the pin.   The cable holder has claws protruding outward on opposite side surfaces, the housing guides the claws in the insertion direction of the cable holder on the inner peripheral surface, and the retraction of the claws at the rear end of the rails The photosensor according to claim 6, further comprising a stopper that prevents the claw, wherein the claw elastically deforms and irreversibly climbs over the stopper to ride on the rail.   The photosensor according to claim 1, wherein the terminal has a bent portion.

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