KR20100001179U - A connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector. The present invention is provided with a connector housing 20 to form an appearance, the terminal housing chamber 22 penetrates therein. The receptacle terminal 40 is inserted and seated in the terminal accommodation room 22. In addition, a conductive metal terminal adapter 60 is selectively coupled to the coupling portion 50 of the receptacle terminal 40 according to the thickness of the tab terminal 70 coupled to the receptacle terminal 40. The coupling part 50 is provided with an upper plate 52 that forms an upper skeleton, and a lower plate 54 that forms an lower skeleton and an elastic piece 56 is bent toward the upper plate 52 at a tip end thereof. According to the present invention as described above, the insertion force of the tab terminal can be made constant regardless of the thickness of the tab terminal, and there is an effect of preventing the occurrence of scratches by the friction between the tab terminal and the engaging portion.

Connectors, terminals, adapters

Description

Connector {A connector}

The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector that is inserted into the terminal coupled to the mating terminal.

In general, the connector is composed of a connector housing and a terminal, and is widely used in power circuits such as washing machines, refrigerators, or automobiles. The use of the connector in these electrical and electronic devices allows the assembly of a plurality of parts individually and then inserted into the final product, thereby greatly simplifying not only the manufacturing of the device but also the maintenance work.

A plurality of terminals are inserted into the connector housing. The terminals are coupled to each other with the terminals of the mating connector to perform electrical connection. Such a terminal includes a receptacle terminal and a tap terminal, and a tap terminal is inserted into the receptacle terminal and coupled to each other.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a receptacle terminal according to the prior art.

According to this, the terminal 1 is made of a metal material is provided with a body portion (3). The body portion 3 is actually configured integrally with the barrel portion 5 and the coupling portion 10 to be described below, it is possible to clearly separate the region with the barrel portion 5 and coupling portion 10 none.

The rear end of the terminal 1 is provided with a barrel portion 5 for connection with an electric wire. The barrel 5 is largely divided into a wire barrel 7 and an insulation barrel 8. The wire barrel 7 is compressed to surround the core of the wire to perform electrical connection, and the insulation barrel 8 wraps the sheath of the wire so that the connection between the terminal 1 and the wire is firm.

Coupling portion 10 is provided at the tip of the body portion 3. The coupling portion 10 has a rectangular cylindrical shape whose front and rear are opened in the longitudinal direction of the terminal 1. Inside the coupling unit 10 is formed a terminal receiving chamber 11 is inserted into the tab terminal (not shown) as a relative terminal.

An elastic piece 12 for electrical contact with the tab terminal is formed in the terminal housing chamber 11 of the coupling part 10. The elastic piece 12 is capable of a predetermined elastic deformation, and provides an elastic restoring force to be in close contact with the inner surface of the corresponding coupling portion 10 in a state where the tab terminal is inserted into the coupling portion 10. The elastic piece 12 is bent toward the inner surface of the coupling portion 10 at the tip of the coupling portion 10, the tip is bent in the direction in which the tab terminal is inserted again. That is, part of the elastic piece 12 is bent to serve as a support.

The bead part 13 is formed in the elastic piece 12. The bead portion 13 is formed to protrude from the surface of the elastic piece 12 in contact with the tab terminal. The bead part 13 is in close contact with the tab terminal to form a contact point.

However, the prior art as described above has the following problems.

As described above, the tab terminal is inserted into the interior of the terminal accommodation chamber 11 and is in close contact with the inner surface of the coupling portion 10 and the elastic piece 12. That is, it is inserted between the inner surface of the coupling portion 10 and the elastic piece 12 is coupled.

In this case, since the specification of the tab terminal is different according to the specification, the thickness of the coupling portion may vary. For example, the tab terminal may have various thicknesses, such as 0.6 mm, 0.64 mm, 0.8 mm, and the like. In this case, when the thinnest 0.6 mm tap terminal is inserted, the contact with the bead part 13 is not normally performed, which leads to a poor connection state of the terminal. On the contrary, when the thickest 0.8 mm tap terminal is inserted, sufficient insertion force is required, and there is a problem in that the scratch occurs in the tap terminal and the elastic piece 12 by the friction during the insertion process.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, so that the coupling between terminals is stable regardless of the specifications of the tap terminal.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the object as described above, the present design and the connector housing is formed to form an appearance, the terminal accommodation chamber is penetrated therein; A receptacle terminal inserted into the terminal accommodation room and seated therein; And a conductive metal terminal adapter selectively coupled to the coupling portion of the receptacle terminal according to the thickness of the tab terminal coupled to the receptacle terminal.

The coupling portion is characterized in that the upper plate forming the upper skeleton, and the lower skeleton is formed on the front end is connected to the lower plate is formed by the side plate the elastic piece is bent toward the upper plate.

The terminal adapter is characterized in that it is formed to surround the upper and lower surfaces of the top plate.

The terminal adapter is provided with a housing engaging piece protrudes, characterized in that the housing engaging piece is prevented from being separated from the receptacle terminal by being caught on the engaging jaw formed on the inner surface of the connector housing.

The terminal adapter is provided with a terminal locking piece protrudes, characterized in that the terminal locking piece is inserted into the upper plate groove formed on the lower surface of the upper plate is hooked.

The housing catching piece and the terminal catching piece are formed by cutting a part of the terminal adapter and bending the cut part inclinedly.

In the present invention, the terminal adapter is coupled to the coupling portion of the receptacle terminal according to the thickness of the tab terminal coupled to the receptacle terminal. In other words, when the thickness of the tap terminal is relatively thin, the use of the terminal adapter allows the tap terminal and the coupling part to maintain a constant degree of coupling. Therefore, the insertion force of the tab terminal can be made constant regardless of the thickness of the tab terminal, and scratches can be prevented from occurring due to the friction of the tab terminal and the engaging portion.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of the connector according to the present invention, Figure 3a and Figure 3b is a cross-sectional view showing that the tab terminal having a different thickness is inserted into the connector in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in these figures, the appearance and skeleton of the connector are formed by the connector housing 20. The connector housing 20 is formed in a substantially hexahedron or cylindrical shape, and is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin.

The inside of the connector housing 20 is formed by penetrating the terminal receiving chamber 22 into which the receptacle terminal 40 to be described below is inserted. The terminal housing chamber 22 is formed by passing through a plurality in the longitudinal direction of the connector housing 20.

A lance 24 is provided inside the connector housing 20. The lance 24 is formed in a substantially cantilevered shape and is elastically deformed about an end connected to one end of the connector housing 20. The lance 24 serves to prevent the receptacle terminal 40 from being pushed back when engaged with the mating terminal in a state where the receptacle terminal 40 is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 22.

To this end, a fastening jaw 26 is formed at the tip of the lance 24. The fastening jaw 26 is to hang on the receptacle terminal 40 to be described below. The lance 24 is elastically deformed downward based on FIG. 2 while the receptacle terminal 40 is installed in the terminal accommodation chamber 22, and is restored to its original state while the fastening jaw 26 is walked.

On the other hand, the locking jaw 28 is formed inside the connector housing 20. The locking jaw 28 is a portion formed to step part of the inner surface of the connector housing 20. The locking jaw 28 is hooked to the housing engaging piece 62 of the terminal adapter 60 to be described below. Thus, the terminal adapter 60 is prevented from being separated from the receptacle terminal 40 while being inserted into the connector housing 20.

One side of the connector housing 20 is formed with a plurality of insertion holes (30). The insertion hole 30 is an inlet in which the tab terminal 70 to be described below is inserted, and a plurality of insertion holes 30 may be formed.

The receptacle terminal 40 is installed in the terminal housing chamber 22 of the connector housing 20. The receptacle terminal 40 is formed by punching and bending a conductive metal material in a progressive mold. The skeleton of the receptacle terminal 40 is formed by a body portion 42. The body part 42 is integrally formed with the barrel part 44 and the coupling part 50 to be described below, and the area is not clearly separated from the barrel part 44 and the coupling part 50.

The barrel portion 44 is provided at the rear end of the body portion 42. The barrel 44 is composed of a wire barrel 46 and an insulation barrel 47. The wire barrel 46 is compressed to surround the core of the wire to perform electrical connection, and the insulation barrel 47 is pressed to surround the coating of the wire so that the receptacle terminal 40 and the wire are firmly coupled. do.

A coupling part 50 is provided at the front end of the body part 42. The coupling part 50 has a hexahedron box shape of which the front and rear sides are opened. The coupling part 50 is coupled to the tab terminal 70 inserted into the mating connector to perform electrical connection.

The coupling part 50 is provided with an upper plate 52. The upper plate 52 is formed by bending a metal plate and faces the inner surface of the connector housing 20 corresponding to the upper surface of the terminal accommodation chamber 22. The top plate 52 is a portion into which the terminal adapter 60 is inserted.

An upper plate groove 53 is formed at the bottom of the upper plate 52. The upper plate groove 53 is a portion into which the terminal locking piece 64 to be described below is inserted. Two upper plate grooves 53 are formed at predetermined intervals on the bottom surface of the upper plate 52.

And the coupling part 50 is provided with the lower plate 54. An elastic piece 56 extends toward the inside of the coupling part 50 at the front end of the lower plate 54. The elastic piece 56 extends inclined at a predetermined angle toward the upper plate 52. The elastic piece 56 is elastically deformable to provide an elastic force to be in close contact with the bottom surface of the upper plate 52 in a state in which the tab terminal 70, which is a relative terminal, is inserted into the coupling part 50. Meanwhile, the upper plate 52 and the lower plate 54 are connected by the side plate 55.

Bead portion 58 is formed on the elastic piece 56. The bead portion 58 is formed to protrude from the surface of the elastic piece 56 in contact with the tab terminal 70. The bead part 58 is in close contact with the tab terminal 70 to form a contact point.

The terminal adapter 60 is selectively inserted into the upper plate 52 of the coupling part 50. The terminal adapter 60 is selectively inserted according to the thickness of the tab terminal 70, and serves to make the electrical connection well by bringing the receptacle terminal 40 and the tab terminal 70 into close contact with each other. That is, the terminal adapter 60 is not used when the thickness of the tap terminal 70 is relatively thick, and is inserted into the top plate 52 when the thickness of the tap terminal 70 is relatively thin, so that the tap terminal 70 is inserted into the tap terminal. 70 can be in close contact with the bead portion 58 of the elastic piece 56.

The terminal adapter 60 is made of a conductive metal material similar to the receptacle terminal 40. The terminal adapter 60 is formed by bending a metal plate in a substantially 'c' shape to surround the upper and lower surfaces of the upper plate 52 of the coupling part 50.

The housing locking piece 62 protrudes from the upper surface of the terminal adapter 60. The housing engaging piece 62 is formed by cutting a portion of the upper surface of the terminal adapter 60 and bending upward. Therefore, since the housing locking piece 62 has a predetermined elastic force, the housing locking piece 62 is elastically deformed when inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 22 and then rests on the locking jaw 28 to be fixed to the connector housing 20. do.

On the other hand, the inner surface of the terminal adapter 60 is provided with a terminal engaging piece 64 which is inserted into the upper plate groove 53 of the upper plate 52 and hooked. The terminal locking piece 64 is formed by cutting a part of the terminal adapter 60 and bending upward, similarly to the housing locking piece 62. The terminal catching piece 64 is inserted into the upper plate groove 53 and serves to prevent the terminal 40 from being pushed back together with the mating terminal together with the lance 24.

The tab terminal 70 is inserted through the insertion hole 30 of the connector housing 20. A portion of the tab terminal 70 coupled to the coupling part 50 is a plate having a predetermined thickness. The tab terminal 70 is coupled to the coupling part 50 and electrically connected to the receptacle terminal 40.

Hereinafter, the operation of the connector according to the present invention having the configuration as described above in detail. For reference, in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the thickness of the tab terminal 70 is t1 <t2.

First, the operator must insert the receptacle terminal 40 into the connector 20. The terminal 40 is inserted in a left to right direction with reference to the drawings. The terminal 40 is inserted into the terminal accommodation room 22 so that the lower plate 54 is fixed to the fastening jaw 26 of the lance 24.

Next, the tab terminal 70, which is a counterpart terminal, is inserted from right to left. Thus, the terminal adapter 60 is selectively coupled to the receptacle terminal 40 before inserting the tab terminal 70. That is, the terminal adapter 60 is selectively coupled according to the thickness of the tab terminal 70 coupled to the receptacle terminal 40.

If the thickness of the tap terminal 70 is thin, that is, as shown in FIG. 3A, the terminal adapter 60 must first be coupled to the receptacle terminal 40 inserted into the connector 20. The terminal adapter 60 is inserted into the upper plate 52 of the receptacle terminal 40, the terminal catching piece 64 is coupled to the terminal 40 while being hooked to the upper plate groove 53, and at the same time the The housing catching piece 62 is fixed to the connector housing 20 while being hooked to the catching jaw 28.

Next, the tab terminal 70 is inserted into the terminal accommodation room 22 through the insertion hole 30. When the tab terminal 70 is inserted, the tab terminal 70 is in close contact with the terminal adapter 60 by the elastic force of the elastic piece 56. As such, even though the thickness of the tap terminal 70 is relatively thin, the thickness of the tap terminal 70 may be compensated by the terminal adapter 60, so that the tap terminal 70 may be stably electrically connected to the receptacle terminal 40.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the thickness of the tab terminal 70 is relatively thick, it is not necessary to insert the terminal adapter 60 into the receptacle terminal 40. Therefore, when the tab terminal 70 is inserted through the insertion hole 30, the tab terminal 70 is in close contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the upper plate 52 and the elastic piece 56, and electrically connected to the receptacle terminal 40. Can be connected.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but is defined by the claims, and various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the claims. It is self evident.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a receptacle terminal according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of the connector according to the present invention.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating tab terminals having different thicknesses inserted into connectors in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

20: connector housing 22: terminal housing room

24: Lance 26: Fastening Jaw

28: engaging jaw 30: insertion hole

40: receptacle terminal 42: body portion

44: barrel part 46: wire barrel

47: insulation barrel 50: coupling part

52: top plate 53: top plate groove

54: lower plate 56: elastic piece

58: bead part 60: terminal adapter

62: housing jamming 64: terminal jamming

70: tap terminal

Claims (6)

A connector housing forming an exterior and having a terminal accommodation chamber penetrated therein; A receptacle terminal inserted into the terminal accommodation room and seated therein; And a conductive metal terminal adapter selectively coupled to a coupling portion of the receptacle terminal according to a thickness of the tab terminal coupled to the receptacle terminal. The method of claim 1, The coupling part is characterized in that the upper plate forming the upper frame, and the lower frame forming a lower frame and the lower plate is formed so that the elastic plate is formed in the front end to the elastic piece is bent toward the upper plate by a side plate. The method of claim 2, The terminal adapter is formed to surround the upper and lower surfaces of the upper plate. The method of claim 3, wherein The terminal adapter is provided with a housing engaging piece protrudes, the connector is caught on the locking projection formed on the inner surface of the connector housing is prevented from being separated from the receptacle terminal. The method of claim 3, wherein The terminal adapter is provided with a terminal locking piece protruding, the terminal locking piece is inserted into the upper plate groove formed on the lower surface of the upper plate is hooked. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The housing catching piece and the terminal catching piece are formed by cutting a portion of the terminal adapter and bending the cut out portion obliquely.

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