JP5287947B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector of a type in which a terminal fitting is pressed into a connector housing and held.

  As an example of this type of connector, a joint connector described in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in FIG. 8, the joint connector includes a connector housing 1 made of a synthetic resin in which fitting recesses 2 into which mating connectors are fitted are opened at both ends with a thick partition wall 3 interposed therebetween. A plurality of press-fitting holes 4 are arranged in a row at a predetermined pitch in the wall 3 and formed, for example, in two upper and lower stages, and the center part of the terminal fitting having tabs at both ends is press-fitted into each press-fitting hole 4. Both tab portions are held in a state of protruding into the fitting recesses 2 on both sides. Moreover, in the area | region of the side of the arrangement | positioning area | region of the press-fit hole 4 in said partition wall 3, the thickness reduction part 5 is formed in order to prevent sink.

JP 2006-32220 A

Here, when the pitch between the terminal fittings is narrowed with the increase in the number of poles, a phenomenon in which a crack occurs in the resin portion between the terminal fittings (press-fit holes 4) has been observed. Then, when the present inventors searched for the cause, the following things became clear.
As shown in the enlarged portion of FIG. 8, when the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 4, a compressive force x acts on the resin material between both press-fitting holes 4 from the left and right. At this time, if the cutout portion 5 is formed on the partition wall 3, the resin material tries to escape to the cutout portion 5, and a vertical pulling force y acts on the resin material, thereby causing a crack k. Conceivable.

  The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above knowledge, and an object thereof is to prevent cracks from occurring between the press-fitted portions of the terminal fitting.

According to the present invention, a plurality of press-fitting holes into which terminal fittings are press-fitted are arranged in a row in a terminal holding part formed in a connector housing made of synthetic resin, and the press-fitting holes in the terminal holding part are arranged in a row. A connector in which a lightening portion is formed in a region parallel to the formed region, and corresponds to a side of an intermediate position between the press-fitting holes adjacent in the arrangement direction in the lightening portion forming region. In this position, there is provided a continuous material portion in which the synthetic resin material forming the connector housing is formed without providing a lightening portion, and a terminal fitting is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole between adjacent press-fitting holes. It is characterized in that the resin material is restricted from escaping to the continuous material portion side when a compressive force acts on the resin material .

  According to such a configuration, at least one side of the intermediate position between the adjacent press-fitting holes is not provided with a thinned portion and the material continuous part is disposed. When a compressive force is applied to the resin material between the press-fitting holes, at least the side where the material continuous part is present does not have a tensile force, resulting in cracks in the resin material between the press-fitting holes. Is prevented.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
A pair of the material continuous portions may be provided on both sides of the intermediate position between the press-fitting holes.
According to such a configuration, the resin material compressed between the two press-fitting holes cannot escape to both sides, that is, since the tensile force does not act, the occurrence of cracks is more reliably prevented. .

Each said terminal metal fitting is good also as a structure protruded along with the side edge of the carrier.
According to such a configuration, the terminal fittings can be collectively press-fitted into the corresponding press-fitting holes, and the connector assembly work is simplified.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a crack from occurring between the press-fitted portions of the terminal fitting.

The front view of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention AA line sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. Enlarged view of region I in FIG. Front view of the connector of Embodiment 2 Enlarged view of region II in FIG. Enlarged view of region III in Fig. 5 Front view of conventional connector housing

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. In the present embodiment, a joint connector is illustrated.
The joint connector of this embodiment has a connector housing 20 made of synthetic resin (hereinafter referred to as housing 20). The housing 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is formed on both end surfaces in the length direction. The mating recesses 21 into which the mating connectors (not shown) on the female side are respectively fitted are formed facing the opposite sides. Hereinafter, the right side in FIG. 2 is referred to as a first fitting recess 21A, and the left side is referred to as a second fitting recess 21B.

A thick intermediate wall 23 (corresponding to the terminal holding portion of the present invention) is formed between the back surfaces of both the fitting recesses 21A and 21B. It is press-fitted over three stages.
As shown in FIG. 2, the joint terminal 10 has, for example, five tabs 12 and 13 protruding at right angles at a constant pitch from both side edges of the elongated carrier 11. Here, the tab 12 on one side is formed longer than the tab 13 on the other side. At the base portion of the longer tab 12 connected to the carrier 11, a predetermined length region is formed wide to form a press-fit portion 15. The front side (right side in the figure) of the press-fit portion 15 is a tapered taper edge 16.
Three joint terminals 10 having such a structure are prepared.

  On the intermediate wall 23 of the housing 20, the mounting portion 25 of the joint terminal 10 is formed in three steps, upper and lower, with a predetermined interval. The mounting portion 25 has a structure in which the joint terminal 10 can be press-fitted from the second fitting recess 21B side, and as shown in FIG. 2, the joint terminal 10 is formed on a surface corresponding to the inner surface of the second fitting recess 21B. The insertion groove 26 that can be inserted almost tightly is cut over substantially the entire width. The insertion groove 26 has a depth dimension in which the back side is a dead end at the center thickness position of the intermediate wall 23 and the carrier 11 is accommodated. A guide 27 having a tapered shape is formed at the entrance of the insertion groove 26.

  On the dead end surface of the insertion groove 26, press-fitting holes 28 through which the tab 12 of the joint terminal 10 can be inserted in a press-fitted state are formed at the same pitch as that of the tab 12 and open to the back surface of the first fitting recess 21A. doing. In other words, on the back surface of the first fitting recess 21A, five press-fit holes 28 through which the tabs 12 are inserted in a press-fit state from the back side are arranged in a horizontal row and are formed in three upper and lower stages. Each press-fitting hole 28 has a depth approximately half of the thickness of the intermediate wall 23. Further, a concave groove 29 is formed so as to connect the outlet portion of the press-fitting hole 28 for each step.

The housing 20 is formed with a lightening portion 30 for preventing sink marks. On the inner surface of the first fitting recess 21A, small first cutout portions 30S are formed in two intermediate regions 32M located between the three regions where the press-fitting holes 28 are arranged in three stages. In the upper region 32U of the arrangement region of the upper press-fitting holes 28 and the lower region 32D of the arrangement region of the lower press-fitting holes 28, large second cutout portions 30L are respectively formed. .
Each intermediate region 32M has a height (vertical width) that is about four times the thickness of the tab 12, and the upper region 32U and the lower region 32D have a larger height (vertical width). .

The first cutout portion 30S has a width that is slightly larger than the thickness of the tab 12, a width that is approximately twice the width of the tab 12, and a width that is a little more than half the thickness of the intermediate wall 23. It is formed in a groove shape.
Five first cutout portions 30S are formed side by side in the same pitch as the press-fitting holes 28 in the intermediate region 32M, and the press-fitting holes 28 and the widthwise centers are aligned. In other words, a material continuous portion in which the synthetic resin material forming the housing 20 is continuous at a position between the adjacent first lightening portions 30S and a position outside the first lightening portions 30S at both ends in the arrangement direction. 35 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 3, on the back side of the first cutout portion 30S, the front shape is the same as that of the first cutout portion 30S, but the depth of the third cutout is about 1/4. The extraction part 30X is formed in the form opened on the inner surface of the second fitting recess 21B across the wall.

The second lightening portion 30L is formed as a through hole having a vertical width slightly more than twice that of the first lightening portion 30S and opened in the back surface of the second fitting recess 21B. However, the width differs in three types.
Such second thinned portions 30L are formed in the upper region 32U and the lower region 32D so as to be spaced apart from each other at positions substantially corresponding to the sides of the press-fit holes 28. Similarly, the portion between the adjacent second thinned portions 30L is a continuous material portion 35 in which the synthetic resin material forming the housing 20 is continuously formed, and is located on the side between the adjacent press-fitting holes 28. It corresponds to the direction.

  When the above is required, the rows of the press-fit holes 28 are formed in three steps on the inner surface of the first fitting recess 21A, and the hollow portions 30 are formed on both sides of the row region of the press-fit holes 28 of each step. Although provided, the synthetic resin material that forms the housing 20 is continuously formed on both the upper and lower sides of the intermediate position between the press-fitting holes 28 that are adjacent to each other in the alignment direction in each step without the formation of the lightening portion. The portion 35 is provided.

  A locking hole 37 used to lock the mating connector fitted in the fitting recesses 21A and 21B is opened on the side surfaces of the fitting recesses 21A and 21B. Further, on the upper surface of the housing 20, there is provided a socket portion 38 that is inserted into a bracket provided in the body, equipment, or the like and used for attaching the housing 20.

The operation and effects of this embodiment are as follows.
In mounting the joint terminal 10 on the housing 20, the joint terminal 10 is inserted into the second fitting recess 21 </ b> B from the longer tab 12 side and is inserted toward the corresponding mounting portion 25. As the insertion proceeds, each longer tab 12 passes through the insertion groove 26 and then is inserted into the corresponding press-fitting hole 28. When the end of the insertion is near the end, the press-fitting portion 15 on the base side of the tab 12 enters the inlet of the press-fitting hole 28. To face. When pushed further, the press-fit portion 15 is pressed into the both side walls of the press-fit hole 28 from the taper edge 16 side, and the push-in is stopped when the carrier 11 fits into the insertion groove 26 and abuts against the inner surface thereof. .
Thereby, in each step, the joint terminal 10 embeds the carrier 11 in the second fitting recess 21B side of the intermediate wall 23, and the longer tab 12 in the first fitting recess 21A. 13 is held in a state of protruding into the second fitting recess 21B.

  Here, when the tabs 12 of the joint terminal 10 are simultaneously press-fitted into the corresponding press-fitting holes 28 at each stage, as shown in FIG. 4 in which the region I of FIG. The compression force x acts on the resin material between the left and right sides of the resin material 28, but the synthetic resin material is continuous on both the upper and lower sides of the position between the press-fitting holes 28 without any hollow portions. Since the portion 35 is formed, the tensile force in the vertical direction does not act unlike the case where the lightening portion 30 is present. As a result, the resin material between the two press-fit holes 28 is prevented from cracking.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS.
In the second embodiment, the shape of the first cutout portion 30Sa formed in the two intermediate regions 32M is changed with respect to the first embodiment.
That is, only the lateral width of the first cutout portion 30Sa of the second embodiment is greatly changed with respect to the first cutout portion 30S of the first embodiment. Therefore, in each intermediate region 32M, the three first cutout portions shown in the figure are displayed. The cutout portions 30Sa are formed side by side at intervals. The reason why the lateral width of the first cutout portion 30Sa is increased is to increase the pin of the mold that forms the first cutout portion 30Sa as much as possible and to enhance the pin.

As a result of the above structure, a position where the first lightening portion 30Sa exists is partially formed among positions corresponding to above or below the positions between the adjacent press-fitting holes 28 in both the intermediate regions 32M.
However, in the formation range (region II in FIG. 5) of the second and third press-fitting holes 28 from the left in the lower stage, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. When the compressive force x is applied to the resin material between the left and right press-fitting holes 28 in accordance with the press-fitting of 12 from both the left and right sides, the upper and lower both sides of the position between the press-fitting holes 28 are not cut out. Since the synthetic resin material is formed as a continuous material portion 35 without being provided, the vertical tensile force does not act, and the resin material between the two press-fit holes 28 is prevented from cracking.

Further, in the formation range of the third and fourth press-fit holes 28 from the left in the upper stage (region III in FIG. 5), as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. On the side, although the first lightening portion 30Sa exists, the upper side is the material continuous portion 35 without being provided with the lightening portion, and therefore, between the press-fit holes 28 adjacent to each other as the tab 12 is pressed. Even when the compressive force x is applied to the resin material from both the left and right sides, the tensile force y acts only on the lower side, and therefore the resin material between the press-fit holes 28 does not crack.
Therefore, in the second embodiment as well, cracking of the resin material is effectively prevented when viewed in total.

<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.
(1) The number of tabs in the arrangement direction and the number of stages shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and the present invention can be similarly applied to those set to other numbers of arrangements and stages.

(2) The present invention is not limited to the joint connector exemplified in the above embodiment, and is also a relay connector that connects two connectors, and has a configuration in which a tab-shaped terminal fitting is attached by press fitting. Applicable. In the case of a relay connector, adjacent terminal fittings may be separated, but even in this case, especially when multiple terminal fittings arranged using jigs etc. are press-fitted all together, Similarly, the problem of cracking can cause the present invention to be an effective solution.
(3) The present invention can also be applied to a board connector having a structure in which a large number of tab-shaped terminal fittings are similarly attached by press fitting.

10 ... Joint terminal 11 ... Carrier 12 ... Tab (terminal fitting)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Press-fit part 20 ... Connector housing 21A, 21B ... Fitting recessed part 23 ... Intermediate wall (terminal holding part)
25 ... Mounting portion 28 ... Press-fit hole 30, 30S, 30Sa, 30L ... Meat removal portion 32M, 32U, 32D ... Meat removal portion formation region 35 ... Material continuous portion

Claims (3)

In the terminal holding portion formed in the connector housing made of synthetic resin, a plurality of press-fitting holes into which the terminal fittings are press-fitted are arranged in a line, and the press-fitting holes in the terminal holding portion are arranged in rows. It is a connector in which a hollow portion is formed in the parallel region,
The synthetic resin material that forms the connector housing without providing the lightening portion is continuous at the position corresponding to the side of the intermediate position between the press-fitting holes adjacent in the arrangement direction in the lightening portion forming region. A material continuation part is provided ,
When the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole and a compressive force is applied to the resin material between the adjacent press-fitting holes, the resin material is restricted from escaping to the material continuous part side. Connector characterized by becoming . The connector according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the material continuous portions are provided on both sides of the intermediate position between the press-fitting holes. The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal fittings protrudes side by side from a side edge of the carrier.

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