JP7351687B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, a connector includes a housing that can be fitted with a mating housing that accommodates a mating terminal, and a housing that is housed in the housing and is electrically connected to the end of an electric wire, and that is connected to the mating terminal in a state where the mating housing and the housing are fitted. A device equipped with a terminal to be electrically connected is known (see Patent Document 1).

In this connector, by fitting the mating housing and the housing, the mating terminals and the terminals fit together, and the mating terminals and the terminals are electrically connected.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-14300

Incidentally, in the connector as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a gap is formed between the inner wall surface of the housing and the outer circumferential surface of the terminal in a state in which the terminal is housed in the housing. If such a gap is formed, the terminal will wobble within the housing.

If the terminal shakes inside the housing, wear may occur between the electrical contacts of the other terminal and the terminal while they are electrically connected, which may reduce the reliability of the electrical connection between the contacts. was there.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can maintain electrical connection reliability.

The connector according to the present embodiment includes a housing that can be fitted with a mating housing that accommodates mating terminals, and a housing that is housed in the housing and is electrically connected to an end portion of an electric wire, so that the mating housing and the housing are fitted together. a terminal that is electrically connected to the mating terminal in a state of and has.

The suppressing member includes a pair of clamping parts whose outer circumferential surface abuts the inner wall surface of the housing and whose inner circumferential surface abuts and pinches the outer circumferential surface of the terminal or the outer circumferential surface of the electric wire adjacent to the terminal; It is preferable to have a connecting part that connects one end side of the holding part.

It is preferable that the pair of said clamping parts are provided with spring parts that apply biasing forces in mutually opposing directions.

It is preferable that a tapered surface is provided on the front side of the suppressing member in the insertion direction into the housing.

The terminal is provided with a wire connection portion that is fixed to the outer periphery of the wire, and the restraining member is provided with a locking portion that is engaged with the wire connection portion in a direction in which the wire connection portion is removed from the housing. It is preferable that

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector that can maintain electrical connection reliability.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the connector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the suppressing member being assembled to the terminal of the connector according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view when a suppressing member is assembled to the terminal of the connector according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 4; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suppressing member of the connector according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of the suppression member of the connector based on the modification of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a connector according to a second embodiment. It is a perspective view when assembling a suppression member to the terminal of the connector based on 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view when a suppression member is attached to the terminal of the connector concerning a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 11;

Hereinafter, the connector according to the present embodiment will be described in detail using the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment will be described using FIGS. 1 to 6.

The connector 1 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 7 that can be fitted with a mating housing 5 in which a mating terminal 3 is housed, and a mating housing 5 and a housing 7 that are housed in the housing 7 and electrically connected to the end portion of an electric wire 9. and a terminal 11 that is electrically connected to the mating terminal 3 in a fitted state.

The housing 7 accommodates a suppressing member 13 that comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 11 .

Further, the restraining member 13 includes a pair of clamping parts 15, 15 whose outer peripheral surface abuts against the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and whose inner peripheral surface contacts the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 11 and clamps the terminal 11; It has a connecting part 17 that connects one end side.

Furthermore, the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are provided with spring parts 19, 19 that apply biasing forces in mutually opposing directions.

Further, a tapered surface 21 is provided on the front side of the restraining member 13 in the insertion direction into the housing 7 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the connector 1 includes a mating housing 5, a mating terminal 3, a housing 7, a terminal 11, and a suppressing member 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mating housing 5 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin and is formed into a case shape. The mating housing 5 is provided with a fitting portion 23 that is open at one end and into which the housing 7 is fitted. The mating terminal 3 is housed inside the fitting portion 23 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the mating terminal 3 is made of a conductive material and has a tab-shaped mating connection portion 25. One end of the mating terminal 3 is fixed to the mating housing 5 by insert molding or the like, and a tab-shaped mating connecting portion 25 at the other end is disposed within the fitting portion 23 . Such a mating terminal 3 is electrically connected to the terminal 11 in a state where the mating housing 5 and the housing 7 are fitted together.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 7 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin, and is formed into a housing shape that can be fitted into the fitting portion 23 of the mating housing 5. As shown in FIGS. A terminal accommodating chamber 27 is provided inside the housing 7 along the fitting direction with the mating housing 5. The terminal accommodating chamber 27 has a connection opening 29 at one end in the length direction, and an insertion opening 31 at the other end in the length direction.

The mating connection portion 25 of the mating terminal 3 is inserted into the connection opening 29 by fitting the mating housing 5 and the housing 7 together. By inserting the mating connection portion 25 into the connection opening 29, the mating terminal 3 and the terminal 11 are electrically connected. The terminal 11 is inserted into the insertion opening 31 from the electrical connection portion 37 side, and the terminal 11 is accommodated in the terminal accommodation chamber 27 . A locking lance 33 is provided within the terminal accommodating chamber 27 in which the insertion opening 31 is provided.

The locking lance 33 is provided as a single member whose base end is continuous with the upper wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 27, and is provided so as to be flexible so that its free end side is inclined inward. When the terminal 11 is inserted through the insertion opening 31, the locking lance 33 slides on the electrical connection portion 37 and is bent. Such a locking lance 33 is restored with the terminal 11 placed at a normal position in the terminal accommodating chamber 27, and the free end side is engaged with the electrical connection portion 37 of the terminal 11. This engagement of the locking lance 33 prevents the terminal 11 from slipping out from the insertion opening 31 side, and the terminal 11 is held at a normal position within the terminal accommodating chamber 27 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the terminal 11 is formed by punching or bending a single plate made of a conductive material. The terminal 11 includes a wire connecting portion 35 and an electrical connecting portion 37 formed of one continuous member. The wire connecting portion 35 includes a covering crimping portion 39 and a core crimping portion 41.

The cover crimping portion 39 consists of a pair of crimping pieces. The covering crimping part 39 crimps the covering part 43 of the electric wire 9 at the end of the electric wire 9 connected to a power source, equipment, or the like. The terminal 11 is fixed to the electric wire 9 by crimping the sheathing crimping portion 39 onto the sheathing portion 43 of the electric wire 9 .

The core wire crimping section 41 consists of a pair of crimping pieces provided between the electrical connection section 37 and the covering crimping section 39. The core wire crimping portion 41 is crimped by crimping the core wire portion 45 exposed from the sheathing portion 43 of the wire 9 at the end portion of the wire 9 . Terminal 11 is electrically connected to electric wire 9 by crimping such core wire crimping portion 41 to core wire portion 45 of electric wire 9 .

The electrical connection part 37 is formed of a single member whose bottom wall is continuous with the wire connection part 35, and is formed into a cylindrical shape by bending both side walls into an arc shape (curl shape) toward the bottom wall. is formed. The ends of both side walls of the electrical connection section 37 are bent to form a contact section 47 that comes into contact with the electrical connection section of a mating terminal. When the mating housing 5 and the housing 7 fit together, the mating connection part 25 of the mating terminal 3 is inserted into the electrical connection part 37, and the contact part 47 is brought into contact with the mating connection part 25. The contact between the contact portion 47 of the electrical connection portion 37 and the mating connection portion 25 electrically connects the mating terminal 3 and the terminal 11 .

When such a terminal 11 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 of the housing 7, a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 11 and the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27. Therefore, for example, if vibrations are applied when the vehicle is running, the terminal 11 may wobble within the terminal housing chamber 27. If the terminal 11 shakes in the terminal storage chamber 27, wear will occur between the electrical contacts of the other terminal 3 and the terminal 11 in the state where they are electrically connected, and the electrical connection between the contacts will deteriorate. There was a risk that reliability would deteriorate. Therefore, a suppressing member 13 is housed in the housing 7 in order to suppress the rattling of the terminal 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the suppressing member 13 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 through the insertion opening 31 of the housing 7 while being assembled to the covering crimping portion 39 of the wire connecting portion 35 of the terminal 11. be done. This suppressing member 13 is formed into a frame shape by a pair of clamping parts 15, 15 and a connecting part 17 that connects one end side of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15.

The pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are formed of a single member whose one end side is continuous with the connecting part 17, and extend from the connecting part 17 so that the other end side is open. The pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are provided so as to be deflectable in directions facing each other and in directions away from each other so that the connecting part 17 side is the base end and the opening side is the free end. By providing the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 in this way, the outer periphery of the terminal 11 or any position on the outer periphery of the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11 from the opening side (here, the covering crimping part 39 of the electric wire connecting part 35) ) can be assembled with the suppressing member 13.

In this embodiment, the distance between the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 is set to be approximately equal to the outer diameter of the covering crimping part 39 of the wire connecting part 35. The covering crimping part 39 of the wire connecting part 35 is arranged between the pair of clamping parts 15 , 15 , and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the covering crimping part 39 to sandwich the covering crimping part 39 . Spring parts 19, 19 are provided on opposing surfaces of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15, that is, in the portions that clamp the covering crimping part 39.

The spring parts 19, 19 are provided so as to be deflectable so as to have biasing forces in mutually opposing directions by folding back from the free ends of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 toward the connecting part 17 side. The spring parts 19, 19 are bent in the direction of separation from each other near the center in accordance with the outer shape of the wire 9 and the covering crimping part 39 of the wire connection part 35. Such spring parts 19, 19 are arranged so that when the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are sandwiching the covering crimping part 39 of the wire connecting part 35, the covering crimping part 39 is sandwiched as shown by the arrow in FIG. Apply a biasing force in the direction. By providing the spring portions 19, 19 on the pair of clamping portions 15, 15 in this manner, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the suppressing member 13 with respect to the terminal 11.

Such a suppressing member 13 is housed in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 through the insertion opening 31 of the housing 7 in a state where it is assembled to the covering crimping portion 39 of the wire connecting portion 35 of the terminal 11 . Here, a tapered surface 21 is provided on the front side of the restraining member 13 in the direction of insertion into the housing 7 . By providing the tapered surface 21 in this manner, the suppressing member 13 can be easily inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 27. In addition, the restraining member 13 can function as a guide member when housing the terminal 11 in the terminal accommodating chamber 27.

Such a suppressing member 13 is placed in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 of the housing 7, with the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 in contact with the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27. The pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are provided in the connecting part 17 so as to be flexible. Therefore, due to the reaction force that clamps the cover crimping portion 39, the outer peripheral surface is brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 so as to apply a biasing force, as shown by the arrow in FIG.

By housing such a suppressing member 13 in the terminal accommodating chamber 27, a gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 11 and the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 is eliminated. Therefore, even if vibrations occur when the vehicle is running, for example, it is possible to significantly suppress the terminal 11 from shaking within the terminal housing chamber 27. Therefore, in a state where the mating terminal 3 and the terminal 11 are electrically connected, it is possible to greatly suppress wear between the mutual electrical contacts, and maintain electrical connection reliability between the contacts. be able to.

In such a connector 1, the housing 7 accommodates the suppressing member 13 that comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and the outer circumferential surface of the terminal 11. It is possible to eliminate the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the Therefore, there is no gap for the terminal 11 to move inside the housing 7, and it is possible to suppress the terminal 11 from shaking inside the housing 7.

Therefore, in such a connector 1, by suppressing the rattling of the terminals 11 within the housing 7, when the mating terminals 3 and the terminals 11 are electrically connected, the electrical contact points between the mating terminals 3 and the terminals 11 are It is possible to suppress wear and maintain electrical connection reliability.

Further, the restraining member 13 includes a pair of clamping parts 15, 15 whose outer peripheral surface abuts against the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and whose inner peripheral surface contacts the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 11 and clamps the terminal 11; It has a connecting part 17 that connects one end side. The pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are open at the end opposite to the connecting part 17. Therefore, the suppressing member 13 can be assembled at any position on the outer periphery of the terminal 11 from the opening side of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15, and the ease of assembling the suppressing member 13 can be improved.

Furthermore, since the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are provided with spring parts 19, 19 that apply biasing forces in mutually opposing directions, the holding force of the restraining member 13 to the terminal 11 can be improved. Misalignment of the suppressing member 13 can be suppressed.

Further, since the tapered surface 21 is provided on the front side of the restraining member 13 in the insertion direction into the housing 7, the restraining member 13 can be easily inserted into the housing 7, and the ease of assembling the restraining member 13 can be improved. can be improved.

(Modified example of the first embodiment)
A modification of the first embodiment will be described using FIG. 7.

The connector 1 (see FIG. 1) according to the present embodiment has a locking portion that is engaged with the suppressing member 13 in the direction of detachment from the housing 7 (see FIG. 1) with respect to the wire connection portion 35 (see FIG. 3). 49 are provided.

Note that the same symbols are used for configurations similar to those in the first embodiment, and the configuration and function descriptions will be omitted as they refer to the first embodiment. The effect is the same.

As shown in FIG. 7 , a locking portion 49 is provided on the connecting portion 17 of the suppressing member 13 so as to protrude from the inner wall surface toward the inside of the suppressing member 13 . This locking part 49 is connected to the core wire crimping part 41 (see FIG. 4) of the sheathing crimping part 39 when the restraining member 13 is assembled to the sheath crimping part 39 (see FIG. 4) of the wire connecting part 35. engaged with the side surface. The locking portion 49 and the cover crimping portion 39 are engaged in the direction in which the restraining member 13 is removed from the housing 7 .

Here, the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 of the suppressing member 13 are in contact with the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, when the suppressing member 13 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 27, there is a possibility that the outer peripheral surface of the suppressing member 13 and the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 will slide, and the arrangement position of the suppressing member 13 will change. be. Therefore, by engaging the locking part 49 and the cover crimping part 39, it is possible to prevent the restraining member 13 from shifting due to sliding between the outer circumferential surface of the restraining member 13 and the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27. can.

In such a connector, since the restraining member 13 is provided with the locking part 49 that engages with the wire connection part 35 in the direction of detachment from the housing 7, when the restraining member 13 is housed in the housing 7, It is possible to prevent displacement of the suppressing member 13.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described using FIGS. 8 to 12.

In the connector 101 according to this embodiment, the housing 7 accommodates a suppressing member 13 that comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11 .

Note that the same symbols are used for configurations similar to those in the first embodiment, and the configuration and function descriptions will be omitted as they refer to the first embodiment. The effect is the same.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 12, the restraining member 13 is inserted into the terminal housing from the insertion opening 31 of the housing 7 in a state where it is assembled to the electric wire 9 adjacent to the covering crimping part 39 of the electric wire connection part 35 of the terminal 11. It is accommodated in the chamber 27. In this embodiment, the distance between the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 of the suppressing member 13 is set to be approximately equal to the outer diameter of the electric wire 9.

The electric wire 9 adjacent to the cover crimping part 39 is arranged between the pair of clamping parts 15, 15, and the spring parts 19, 19 abut against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 9 to clamp the electric wire 9. At this time, the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 and spring parts 19, 19 apply an urging force in the direction of clamping the electric wire 9, as shown by the arrows in FIG. By assembling the suppressing member 13 to the electric wire 9 in this manner, positional deviation of the suppressing member 13 with respect to the electric wire 9 can be suppressed.

Such a suppressing member 13 is housed in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 through the insertion opening 31 of the housing 7 in a state where it is assembled to the electric wire 9 adjacent to the cover crimping portion 39 . The suppressing member 13 is placed in the terminal accommodating chamber 27 of the housing 7 so that the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are in contact with the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27. The pair of clamping parts 15, 15 are provided in the connecting part 17 so as to be flexible. Therefore, due to the reaction force that clamps the electric wire 9, the outer peripheral surface is brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 so as to apply a biasing force, as shown by the arrow in FIG.

By assembling such a suppressing member 13 to the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11, the gap formed between the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 9 and the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 27 is eliminated. Therefore, even if the electric wire 9 is subjected to vibrations when the vehicle is running, for example, the electric wire 9 will not move within the terminal housing chamber 27. By restricting the movement of the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11 within the terminal accommodating chamber 27 in this manner, it is possible to significantly suppress the terminal 11 from shaking within the terminal accommodating chamber 27. Therefore, in a state where the mating terminal 3 and the terminal 11 are electrically connected, it is possible to greatly suppress wear between the mutual electrical contacts, and maintain electrical connection reliability between the contacts. be able to.

In such a connector 101, the housing 7 accommodates the suppressing member 13 that comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11. A gap between the inner wall surface and the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 9 can be eliminated. Therefore, the electric wire 9 will not move within the housing 7. By restricting the movement of the electric wire 9 adjacent to the terminal 11 within the housing 7, it is possible to suppress the terminal 11 from shaking within the housing 7.

Therefore, in such a connector 101, by suppressing the rattling of the terminals 11 within the housing 7, when the mating terminals 3 and the terminals 11 are electrically connected, the electrical contact points between the mating terminals 3 and the terminals 11 are It is possible to suppress wear and maintain electrical connection reliability.

Although this embodiment has been described above, this embodiment is not limited to these, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of this embodiment.

Moreover, although the restraining member is assembled to the covering crimping part of the wire connection part of the terminal, the present invention is not limited to this, and the restraining member may be assembled to the core wire crimping part of the wire connection part.

Further, the suppressing member is housed in the housing while being assembled to the terminal or the electric wire, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the suppressing member may be housed in the housing from the insertion opening while the terminal is housed in the housing. Good too.

In addition, the housing may be provided with an opening that communicates with the terminal accommodating chamber, and the suppressing member may be assembled at any position from this opening while the terminal is accommodated in the housing. Furthermore, for example, when the electrical connection part is formed in a box shape and a contact part is provided inside, the suppressing member may be assembled to the electrical connection part.

Further, the locking portion of the suppressing member is engaged with the wire connecting portion of the terminal when it is assembled to the wire connecting portion, but the present invention is not limited to this, and when the suppressing member is assembled to the wire, The restraining member may be provided with a locking portion that engages with the wire connection portion. In this case, the locking portion may be extended toward the wire connection portion, and an engagement groove or the like in which the locking portion is engaged may be provided in the wire connection portion.

1,101 Connector 3 Mating terminal 5 Mating housing 7 Housing 9 Wire 11 Terminal 13 Suppressing member 15 Clamping part 17 Connecting part 19 Spring part 21 Tapered surface 35 Wire connecting part 49 Locking part

Claims (4)

a housing that can be fitted with a mating housing housing a mating terminal;
a terminal housed in the housing and electrically connected to the end portion of the electric wire, and electrically connected to the mating terminal in a state where the mating housing and the housing are fitted;
a suppressing member that is housed in the housing and comes into contact with an inner wall surface of the housing and an outer circumferential surface of the terminal or an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire adjacent to the terminal;
has
The suppressing member includes a pair of clamping parts whose outer circumferential surface abuts the inner wall surface of the housing and whose inner circumferential surface abuts and pinches the outer circumferential surface of the terminal or the outer circumferential surface of the electric wire adjacent to the terminal; and a connecting part connecting one end side of the holding part,
The pair of clamping parts are provided with spring parts that apply biasing forces in mutually opposing directions,
In the connector, the spring portion is folded back from the free end side of the pair of holding portions toward the connecting portion side. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the spring portions are bent in the direction of separation from each other near the center . The connector according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a tapered surface is provided on the front side of the suppressing member in the insertion direction into the housing. The terminal is provided with a wire connection portion fixed to the outer periphery of the wire,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the restraining member is provided with a locking portion that engages with the wire connection portion in a direction of removal from the housing.

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