JP6156134B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector in which an electrical contact is formed between a terminal and a counterpart terminal.

  In recent years, with the electrification of various products such as automobiles, the opportunity to use wiring materials such as cables has increased more than ever. In general, connectors are often used to electrically connect these wiring materials.

  For example, as a connector used to electrically connect an inverter and a battery in a hybrid vehicle, as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 401 is pressed and an electrical contact is made between the counterpart terminal 402. A connector 400 to be formed is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this connector 400, the front end portion of the terminal 401 is a free end for electrical connection with the counterpart terminal 402, and the rear end portion of the terminal 401 is connected to the inner housing 404 constituting a part of the housing 403. It is insert-molded to form a fixed end.

  In addition, a seal member 405 that ensures airtightness between the terminal 401 and the housing 403 is disposed at the boundary between the front end portion of the terminal 401 and the rear end portion of the terminal 401. Prevents flooding from outside.

  In FIG. 4, among the members constituting the mating connector to which the connector 400 is connected, only the terminal 402 and the insulating member 406 are shown by broken lines, and the other members are not shown.

JP 2012-151004 A JP 2009-302039 A JP 2012-048947 A

  By the way, when the terminal 401 and the counterpart terminal 402 are electrically connected, the distal end portion of the terminal 401 is pressed together with the counterpart terminal 402 by the connecting member 407 so that the terminal 401 and the counterpart terminal 402 are mutually spring-loaded. By bending and deforming so as to exert a force, the terminal 401 and the counterpart terminal 402 are brought into contact with each other to form an electrical contact between the terminal 401 and the counterpart terminal 402.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the fulcrum 501 of the deflection deformation of the terminal 401 due to the pressing coincides with the boundary between the front end portion of the terminal 401 and the rear end portion of the terminal 401, that is, the position where the seal member 405 is disposed. Therefore, the stress due to the bending deformation of the terminal 401 is applied to the sealing member 405 as it is, and there is a possibility that the sealing member 405 is peeled off or displaced 502 and the waterproof performance is deteriorated.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of maintaining waterproof performance by preventing peeling and misalignment of a seal member due to flexural deformation of a terminal.

  The present invention, which was devised to achieve this object, is a connector in which an electrical contact is formed with a mating terminal by pressing the distal end of the terminal, and the distal end of the terminal becomes a free end. And a housing that supports the rear end portion of the terminal so that the rear end portion of the terminal becomes a fixed end, and is disposed at a boundary between the front end portion of the terminal and the rear end portion of the terminal, and the terminal and the terminal A seal member that ensures airtightness with the housing, and the terminal formed between the housing and a position where the tip of the terminal is pressed and a position where the seal member is disposed A terminal support member that offsets a fulcrum when the tip of the terminal is pressed and the terminal is bent and deformed from a position where the seal member is disposed by supporting a part of the terminal.

  The housing may include a stress relief portion that releases stress received by the terminal support member to the housing when the tip of the terminal is pressed.

  The terminal support member may have a terminal support hole for inserting and supporting the terminal, and the terminal support hole may generate a clearance when the terminal is inserted and supported.

  The housing and the terminal support member may be made of different materials.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the connector which can prevent the peeling and deviation | shift of the sealing member resulting from the bending deformation of a terminal, and can maintain waterproof performance can be provided.

It is sectional drawing which shows the connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view showing an inner housing in the connector of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows the terminal support member in the connector of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the connector which concerns on a prior art. FIG. 5 is a perspective sectional view showing an inner housing in the connector of FIG. 4.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 100 according to the present embodiment is such that an electrical contact point is formed with the counterpart terminal 102 by pressing the distal end portion of the terminal 101. The housing 103 that supports the rear end portion of the terminal 101 so that the portion becomes a free end and the rear end portion of the terminal 101 becomes a fixed end, and is arranged at the boundary between the front end portion of the terminal 101 and the rear end portion of the terminal 101 In addition, the seal member 104 that secures the airtightness between the terminal 101 and the housing 103 and the housing 103 are formed separately from each other, and the position where the tip of the terminal 101 is pressed and the seal member 104 are arranged. By supporting a part of the terminal 101 between the terminal 101 and the position where the seal member 104 is disposed, the tip of the terminal 101 is pressed and the terminal 101 is bent and deformed. A terminal support member 106 to be offset from, characterized in that it comprises a.

  Here, as an example, the connector 100 used when electrically connecting the inverter and the battery or between the motor and the inverter will be described. Therefore, the connector 100 includes three terminals 101 and three counterpart terminals 102 in order to realize power transmission by three-phase alternating current, and has a structure in which these are sequentially stacked. Since these structures are similar to those of the connector described in Patent Document 1 and depart from the gist of the present invention, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Further, in FIG. 1, only the terminal 102 and the insulating member 107 are shown by broken lines among the members constituting the mating connector to which the connector 100 is connected in order to focus on the main part of the present invention. The illustration of these members is omitted.

  The terminal 101 is formed to have a length of 30 mm to 50 mm and a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm, for example, in order to exert a spring force and appropriately form a contact point with the counterpart terminal 102. That is, the terminal 101 is formed in such a length and thickness that the tip end portion is sufficiently bent and deformed to exert a spring force.

  The housing 103 is an inner housing 108 that supports the rear end portion of the terminal 101, and an outer housing that is fitted to the inner housing 108 in a state in which airtightness is ensured between the inner housing 108 and accommodates the front end portion of the terminal 101. 109.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inner housing 108 includes an inner housing main body 110 that supports the rear end of the terminal 101, and a seal member that extends in a hollow cylindrical shape from the inner housing main body 110 toward the tip of the terminal 101. And an accommodating portion 111.

  The inner housing main body 110 and the seal member accommodating portion 111 are integrally formed by resin molding. Among these, the inner housing main body 110 is formed so as to support the rear end of the terminal 101 by insert molding. Thereby, the front-end | tip part of the terminal 101 becomes a free end, and the rear-end part of the terminal 101 becomes a fixed end.

  Further, the inner housing main body 110 has a stress relief portion 112 that releases the stress received by the terminal support member 106 to the housing 103 when the tip of the terminal 101 is pressed. The stress relief portion 112 is not limited to the inner housing main body 110 and may be formed at any location of the housing 103.

  The seal member accommodating portion 111 has a hollow portion 113 having a bottom portion at the boundary between the front end portion of the terminal 101 and the rear end portion of the terminal 101. The hollow portions 113 are formed in a multiple as many as the number of the terminals 101, and the seal member 104 is accommodated in each of these bottom portions.

  Further, the seal member accommodating portion 111 is formed with an engagement hole 115 into which an engagement portion 114 of the terminal support member 106 described later is engaged, and the engagement portion 114 is engaged with the engagement hole 115. Thus, the terminal support member 106 is detachably attached to the housing 103.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the outer housing 109 is provided with a connection member 118 that presses the distal end portion of the terminal 101 together with the counterpart terminal 102 via an insulating member 116 and a spring 117. The outer housing 109 is fitted into an outer housing that constitutes a part of the mating connector.

  The seal member 104 is made of a potting material or packing made of epoxy resin or silicone resin, and is in close contact between the terminal 101 and the inner surface of the hollow portion 113 to ensure airtightness between the terminal 101 and the housing 103. Yes.

  In particular, when the sealing member 104 is made of a potting material, the liquid potting material can flow into every corner even if the portion where the airtightness should be ensured has a complicated shape. It becomes possible.

  For example, even if the fluid communication hole 123 is formed at the boundary between the front end portion of the terminal 101 and the rear end portion of the terminal 101, the potting material flows into the fluid communication hole 123, and the potting material is sufficiently placed around the terminal 101. Since the potting material is cured, it is possible to suppress the movement and peeling.

  Note that the fluid communication hole 123 does not divide the terminal 101, and is a hole smaller than the width of the terminal 101 that is formed so as to penetrate a part of the terminal 101 in the vertical direction in the figure. There is no hindrance to the flow of electricity.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal support member 106 includes a terminal support member main body 119 that supports the terminal 101, and a claw 120 that is formed integrally with the terminal support member main body 119.

  A terminal support hole 121 for inserting and supporting the terminal 101 is formed in the terminal support member main body 119. By inserting the terminal 101 into the terminal support hole 121, the tip of the terminal 101 is pressed and the terminal 101 is pressed. The fulcrum 105 at the time of bending deformation is offset toward the tip of the terminal 101 from the position where the seal member 104 is disposed.

  The terminal support hole 121 generates a clearance 122 when the terminal 101 is inserted and supported (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The clearance 122 is preferably formed on the surface of the terminal 101 that is pressed, and the surface opposite to the surface of the terminal 101 that is pressed is preferably in contact with the terminal support hole 121.

  Accordingly, when the terminal support member 106 is attached to the housing 103, the terminal 101 can be easily inserted into the terminal support hole 121. When the terminal 101 is pressed, the fulcrum 105 moves and the terminal 101 is bent. It is possible to prevent stress due to deformation from being applied to the seal member 104.

  The clearance 122 may be formed on the side opposite to the surface to be pressed of the terminal 101. In this case, the fulcrum 105 moves and the terminal 101 is bent when the terminal 101 is pressed. The clearance 122 needs to have such a width that the stress due to deformation is not applied to the seal member 104. In addition, a clearance may be formed in the width direction of the terminal 101. In this case, the size of the clearance is not particularly limited.

  Further, the claw portion 120 is formed with an engagement portion 114 that is engaged with an engagement hole 115 formed in the seal member housing portion 111.

  Since the terminal support member 106 is formed separately from the housing 103, the housing 103 and the terminal support member 106 can be formed of different materials. Accordingly, it is possible to use an expensive material having high mechanical strength or a material having heat dissipation only for the terminal support member 106, and to minimize the manufacturing cost of the connector 100, the terminal support member Various functions can be given to 106.

  As described so far, according to the connector 100 according to the present embodiment, the terminal support member 106 can offset the fulcrum 105 of the deflection deformation of the terminal 101 from the position where the seal member 104 is disposed. It is possible to avoid the stress due to the bending deformation of 101 from being applied to the seal member 104, and to prevent the seal member 104 from peeling or shifting due to the bending deformation of the terminal 101, thereby maintaining the waterproof performance.

  In the connector 100, since the terminal support member 106 is separate from the housing 103, the terminal support member 106 alone or the terminal support member 106 and the stress relief portion 112 receive all the stress due to the bending deformation of the terminal 101. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the stress due to the bending deformation of the terminal 101 from being applied to the seal member 104.

100 connector 101 terminal 102 mating terminal 103 housing 104 seal member 105 fulcrum 106 terminal support member 107 insulating member 108 inner housing 109 outer housing 110 inner housing main body 111 seal member housing portion 112 stress relief portion 113 hollow portion 114 engaging portion 115 Engagement hole 116 Insulating member 117 Spring 118 Connection member 119 Terminal support member main body part 120 Claw part 121 Terminal support hole 122 Clearance 123 Fluid communication hole

Claims (4)

In the connector in which an electrical contact is formed between the terminal of the other party by pressing the tip of the terminal having a flat plate portion ,
A housing that supports the rear end of the terminal such that the front end of the terminal is a free end and the rear end of the terminal is a fixed end;
And potting material as a sealing member for ensuring airtightness between the terminal and the housing while being arranged on said plate for definitive the boundary between the rear end portion of the distal end portion and the terminal of the terminal,
The tip of the terminal is formed separately from the housing and supports a part of the terminal between a position where the tip of the terminal is pressed and a position where the seal member is disposed. A terminal support member that offsets a fulcrum when the portion is pressed and the terminal is bent and deformed from a position where the seal member is disposed;
Equipped with a,
The flat plate portion is formed with a hole penetrating in the thickness direction, and the potting material covers the flat plate portion and is filled in the hole .   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a stress relief portion that releases stress received by the terminal support member to the housing when a tip end portion of the terminal is pressed. The terminal support member has a terminal support hole for inserting and supporting the terminal,
The terminal support hole has a clearance when the terminal is inserted and supported ,
The housing has a seal member accommodating portion for accommodating the potting material,
The terminal support member includes a terminal support member main body part that supports the terminal and has the terminal support hole formed therein, and a claw part that is formed integrally with the terminal support member main body part,
The said terminal support member is attached to the said housing by engaging the engaging part currently formed in the said nail | claw part in the engaging hole formed in the said sealing member accommodating part. Connector described in.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing and the terminal support member are made of different materials.