TWI807154B - electrical relay - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to provide an electrical relay, a large inclination of the connection member relative to the contact member connected to the counterpart connector can be tolerated. The electrical relay system has: a columnar metal contact member (20) extending in one axis direction, and a metal connection member (30) electrically conductively connected to the contact member (20). The contact member (20) is inserted in the axial direction of the contact member (20) and connected to the counterpart connector ( 60 ). The connection member ( 30 ) is a connection object connected to the connection member ( 30 ). 60) A cylindrical shape that can rotate around the axis of the contact member (20). The other end side of the contact member (20) and one end side of the connection member (30) are swing structures (S) that can swing relative to each other. The axis from one end side of the member (30) toward the other end side is perpendicular to each other.

Description

electrical relay

The present invention relates to an electric relay for electrically connecting an electric connector and a connection object.

Such an electrical relay is disclosed in Patent Document 1 as an intermediate connector used in an electrical connector assembly. The intermediate connector of this patent document 1 has two conductive terminals arranged in the housing, and each conductive terminal is a form in which a cylindrical first contact portion on one end side and a cylindrical second contact portion on the other end side are connected by a connecting portion. The axis of the first contact portion and the axis of the second contact portion are in a positional relationship perpendicular to each other. The connecting portion is a metal strip shaped and bent in its thickness direction, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion whose axes are perpendicular to each other are connected. The first mounting connector of the connection object of the first contact portion is mounted on one circuit substrate, and the second mounting connector of the connection object of the second contact portion is mounted on another circuit substrate.

The first mounting connector and the second mounting connector respectively hold elastic cylindrical members in holding holes formed in the housing. The elastic cylindrical member has a cylindrical shape for receiving the first or second contact portion of the conductive terminal along the axial direction, and has a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction distributed in the circumferential direction except for the end portion in the axial direction, and the central portion in the axial direction is reduced in diameter to have an annular constricted portion.

If the first contact portion is inserted toward the elastic cylindrical member of the first installation connector, and the second contact member is inserted toward the elastic cylindrical member of the second installation member, the first contact portion or the second contact portion makes the ring-shaped constricted portion of each elastic cylindrical member elastically expand in diameter, and a contact pressure is generated between it and the first contact portion or the second contact portion. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-120377

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In Patent Document 1, the first contact part and the second contact part of the conductive terminal provided on the intermediate connector can rotate relative to the first mounting connector and the second mounting connector around their respective axes, and the above-mentioned floating characteristics are used to allow inclination relative to the axis, but the allowable amount of the inclination is small. This inclination, because the elastic cylindrical member is elastically deformable in the radial direction, supports the first contact portion or the second contact portion with the annular constriction portion, that is, the smallest inner diameter portion, as a fulcrum, so it becomes an inclination centered on the fulcrum, and is an inclination within the elastic deformation capacity. As a result, the allowable inclination angle is small, and although it can correspond to the degree of mounting error of the intermediate connector and the first and second mounting connectors, it cannot cope with, for example, a change in the mounting position.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an electrical relay capable of allowing a large inclination of a connecting member with respect to a contact member. [Technical means to solve the problem]

The electrical relay system of the present invention has: a columnar metal contact member extending in one axis direction; and a metal connection member electrically conductively connected to the contact member. The contact member is inserted in the axial direction of the contact member and connected to a counterpart connector. The connection member is a connection object connected to the connection member.

In this electrical relay, the present invention is characterized in that the contact member is formed in a cylindrical shape with one end side rotatable around the axis of the contact member with respect to the counterpart connector, and the other end side of the contact member and one end side of the connection member have a swing structure that can swing relative to each other. axis.

According to the present invention constituted in this way, since one end side of the contact member has a cylindrical shape, it can rotate around the axis of the contact member when the contact member is inserted into the mating connector, and the connecting portion of the contact member and the connection member can swing around other axes, so a total of degrees of freedom around two axes can be obtained. Therefore, the counterpart connector and the connection partner are relayed by the electrical relay body in a state where the contact member and the connection member can change positions and directions in a wide range.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned swing structure can be configured to swingably connect the ring plate portion provided on the other end side of the above-mentioned contact member and the other ring plate portion provided on the one end side of the above-mentioned connecting member by a connecting member extending toward the other axis.

In this way, with a simple structure, the two ring plate portions can be supported so as to be swingable about the other axis through the connecting member, and the size can be reduced even in the direction of the other axis.

In the present invention, the connecting member may be configured such that the portion extending from one end side to the other end side of the connecting member includes at least one of the columnar member and the flexible cable member according to the design conditions of the equipment using the electrical relay.

Furthermore, the present invention can be configured such that the above-mentioned contact member and connection member are in the same form when there is a degree of freedom in the design conditions of the equipment using the electrical relay.

In this way, the types of parts forming the electrical relay can be reduced, and improvements can be made in parts management and production cost reduction.

The present invention may be configured such that at least the contact member is held by the case among the contact member and the connection member. In this way, the electrical relay body is protected, and the connection operation of the contact member facing the counterpart connector and the connection operation of the connection member facing the connection object can be performed safely and simply. [Effect of Invention]

The present invention is as above, because the contact member and the connection member are connected, and become a structure that can swing around another axis that is perpendicular to both the axis of the contact member and the axis of the connection member. The contact member that has a cylindrical shape at one end can rotate around its axis relative to the counterpart connector, and the connection member can swing relative to the contact member around the other axis, allowing a large inclination of the connection member relative to the contact member, and obtaining a high degree of freedom around the two axes. As a result, the position and direction of the contact member and the connection member can be greatly changed. The degree of freedom in the design of the surroundings using the electrical relay can be greatly improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an electrical relay 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a counterpart connector 60 as one of the electrical relays 10 before they are connected. Also in FIG. 1 , the illustration of the other connection partner of the electrical relay body 10 is omitted.

The electrical relay 10 shown in FIG. 1 is supported by a housing 50 and connected to an elastic cylindrical member 61 as a contact supported by a counterpart housing 70 of a counterpart connector 60 .

In the case 50, two electrical relay bodies 10 in a pair are supported in parallel. The two electrical relay bodies 10 in parallel have the same form and are arranged symmetrically in the opposing direction in FIG. 1 .

The electrical relay 10, as shown in FIG. 2 in which each member is shown separately, has a contact member 20 whose one end side is electrically connected to one connection partner, that is, a mating connector 60, a connection member 30 electrically connected to the other connection partner not shown in the figure, and a rivet-shaped connection member 40 rotatably connecting the two. The other end side of the contact member 20 shown in FIG.

The contact member 20 is made by processing a metal plate member with a belt-shaped part, and has a cylindrical part 21, a pair of locking pieces 22 and a ring plate part 23; the cylindrical part 21 is a shape in which the belt-shaped part is rolled into a cylindrical shape with its length direction as the axis; A direction has a diameter. The cylindrical portion 21 is slightly reduced in diameter at the lower end, so that it can easily enter the elastic cylindrical member 61 of the mating connector 60 by contact pressure. The pair of locking pieces 22 abut against the locking section of the housing 50 to determine the axial position of the contact member 20 when the contact member 20 is inserted and assembled in the housing 50 in the axial direction. The ring plate portion 23 is formed with a hole portion 23A through which a column portion 42 of a connecting member 40 described later is penetrated.

The connection member 30 is provided with a cable 31 and a metal part 32; the cable 31 is connected to another not-shown connection object; The metal fitting 32 is formed by processing a metal plate, and has a clamping portion 33 for clamping the above-mentioned core wire 31B, and a ring plate portion 34 extending from the clamping portion 33 .

The above-mentioned clamping part 33 is made of a sheet with a C-shaped cross-section perpendicular to the axis of the cable 31, and the front ends thereof are crushed so as to approach each other, and the core wire 31B of the cable 31 is clamped by the front end of the clamping part 33. The ring plate portion 34 extending from the clamping portion 33 has approximately the same outer diameter as the ring plate portion 23 of the contact member 20, and is formed with a hole 34A having approximately the same inner diameter as the hole portion 23A of the ring plate portion 23 of the contact member 20.

The coupling member 40 is formed in the form of a metal rivet in this embodiment, and has a disc-shaped head portion 41 and a column portion 42 . The outer diameter of the column portion 42 is slightly smaller than the hole portion 23A formed in the ring plate portion 23 of the contact member 20 and the hole portion 34A formed in the ring plate portion 34 of the connection member 30 . This coupling member 40 is used together with a conical disk-shaped disc spring 43 in this embodiment, and the inner diameter of the hole 43A of the disc spring 43 is slightly larger than that of the column 42 .

The connecting member 40, after the post 42 of the connecting member 40 passes through the hole 43A of the disc spring 43, the hole 34A of the ring plate 34 of the connecting member 30, and the hole 23A of the ring plate 23 of the contact member 20, then flattens the front end (the left end of FIG. 4 ) of the post 42 as shown in FIG. The swing structure S between the contact members 20. At this time, the disc spring 43 is in a compressed state, and its compressed elastic force applies a contact pressure between the ring plate portion 34 of the connection member 30 and the ring plate portion 23 of the contact member 20 .

The casing 50 is made of an electrical insulating material, and holds two electrical relay bodies 10 obtained by connecting and assembling the components in FIG. 2 . At this time, the two electrical relay bodies 10 are arranged side by side in a mutually symmetrical posture as shown in FIG. 1 as described above. The two electrical relay bodies 10 are arranged so that, in the opposing direction of the two electrical relay bodies 10 , the mutual locking pieces 22 face away from each other.

The case 50 has a substantially cubic shape as shown in FIG. 1, and supports the electrical relay body 10 such that the electrical relay body 10 is disposed on both sides of a partition protrusion 51 protruding from the upper portion. This casing 50, as shown in Fig. 5 (A), is formed with recessed part 52A, 52B in the upper part and the lower part, and the thicker intermediate wall 53 between two recessed parts 52A, 52B has: allow the cylindrical part 21 of contact member 20 to insert and be supported the supporting hole 53A.

Although not shown in Fig. 5, in the above-mentioned intermediate wall 53, when the cylindrical part 21 is inserted to a predetermined position, the locking segment part for the aforementioned pair of locking pieces 22 protruding from the cylindrical part 21 abuts is formed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of Fig. 5 so as to be connected to the upper part of the supporting hole 53A. The supporting hole 53A and the locking section are symmetrical to each of the two electrical relay bodies 10 .

The recessed portion 52B formed in the lower portion of the housing 50 is configured to receive a later-described fitting protrusion 72A formed in the housing 70 of the mating connector 60 described later.

In the case where the casing 50 supports two electrical relays 10, the two electrical relays 10 can be fitted and connected to the counterpart connector 60 by one operation, but in the present invention, the housing 50 is not necessary, and the two electrical relays 10 not supported by the housing 50 can also be individually connected to the counterpart connector 60.

Next, the counterpart connector 60, as shown in FIG. 1 , has: a metal elastic cylindrical member 61 as a terminal, a counterpart housing 70 made of an electrical insulating material supporting the elastic cylinder member 61, and a mounting metal part 80 supported by the counterpart housing 70 and fixedly mounted on a circuit board (not shown).

The elastic cylindrical member 61 is a strip-shaped plate with slits in the form of a semi-processed member. The strip-shaped plate with slits is obtained by forming a plurality of thin slits in parallel at intervals on a thin metal plate. Then, taking the longitudinal direction of the slits as the axial direction, the strip-shaped plate with slits is rolled into a cylindrical shape, and the circumferential ends are joined to each other. The elastic cylindrical member 61 produced in this way, as shown in FIG. 5(A) and (B), is formed with a plurality of slits 61A extending in the axial direction at plural positions in the circumferential direction, and has annular end portions 61B without slits at both ends in the axial direction. In the range of the axial direction where the slits 61A are formed, the presence of the slits 61A makes it elastic in the radial direction, and a diameter-reducing portion 61C is formed approximately in the center of the direction. The inner diameter of the reduced-diameter portion 61C is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 21 of the contact member 20 in a free state without external force. When the cylindrical portion 21 is inserted into the reduced-diameter portion 61C, the reduced-diameter portion 61C is pushed radially outward by the cylindrical portion 21 to elastically expand its diameter, thereby generating contact pressure between it and the cylindrical portion 21 and supporting the cylindrical portion 21. The columnar portion 21 is in contact with the reduced diameter portion 61C only in a narrow range in the axial direction, is rotatable about the axis within the elastic cylindrical member 61, and can be slightly inclined with the reduced diameter portion 61C as a fulcrum.

Although not shown in the figure, the above-mentioned elastic cylindrical member 61 is integrally provided with connecting pins electrically connected to the circuit board, or connected to different individual connecting pins.

The counterpart housing 70 of the counterpart connector 60 has an upper housing 72 and two lower housings 73 assembled on the upper housing 72; the fitting protrusion 72A provided on the upper housing 72 is fitted with the recess 52B formed in the lower part of the housing 50 for accommodating the above-mentioned contact member 20.

The upper case 72, as shown in FIG. 1, has a fitting protrusion 72A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a flange portion 72B protruding from the lower portion of the fitting protrusion 72A to the periphery. On the side surface of the fitting protrusion 72A, a positioning protrusion 72A-1 is provided to protrude sideways.

When the flange portion 72B enters the concave portion 52B of the housing 50, it abuts against the bottom surface of the housing 50 to determine to enter a predetermined position. The positioning protrusion 72A-1 is embedded in the positioning concave portion 54 (refer to FIG. 1 ) formed on the side wall of the housing 50 for positioning, and holds the mounting metal part 80 for mounting the counterpart housing 70 on the circuit board. As shown in FIG. 1, for the slit 72A-2 formed in the above-mentioned positioning protrusion 72A-1, the mounting metal part 80 is a plate-shaped member that is pressed in from above and installed, and the lower end side of the mounting metal part 80 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the above-mentioned positioning protrusion 72A-1.

In the upper case 72, through-holes 74 corresponding to the contact members 20 of the two electrical relay bodies 10 are formed penetrating up and down at two places of the fitting protrusion 72A. Each through hole 74 has an appropriate diameter and hole length for insertion of the lower case 73 after the elastic cylindrical member 61 is housed from below, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5(A), the casing 73 to be inserted into each through hole 74 is a bottomed cylinder, and is formed with a terminal hole 73A opening above, and the above-mentioned elastic cylindrical member 61 as a terminal is accommodated in the terminal hole 73A from above. An annular protrusion 73B is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower case 73 , The annular protrusion 73B is used to determine the insertion position when the upper half of the lower case 73 is inserted into the above-mentioned through hole 74. Therefore, the lower half of the lower case 73 , that is, the portion below the annular protrusion 73B protrudes further downward than the upper case 72 .

The lower case 73 is integrally assembled with the upper case 72 to form the mating connector 60 by inserting the upper half of the lower case 73 into the corresponding through-hole 74 with the elastic cylindrical member 61 accommodated in each terminal hole 73A.

The mating connector 60 is arranged on a circuit board (not shown). Formed on the circuit board are: a hole (not shown) allowing the entry of the lower case 73 and a slit (not shown) allowing the entry of the lower end of the mounting metal part 80 mounted on the upper case 72. When the lower case 73 enters the hole of the circuit board and the lower end of the mounting metal part 80 enters the slit, the lower end of the mounting metal part 80 is welded and fixed to the corresponding part of the circuit board, thereby fixing the counterpart connector 60 at a predetermined position on the circuit board.

The electric relay 10 is used and operated in the following manner. In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , two electrical relays 10 are used in a state where two pairs are supported by a housing 50 and unitized. As shown in FIG. 1, the two electrical relay bodies 10 are supported by the housing 50 in a symmetrical posture in the facing direction. When in use, they are brought to the position directly above the counterpart connector 60 in the state supported by the housing 50, and then they are lowered as it is, and are formed. The fitting protrusion 72A of the upper case 72 of the mating case 70 of the mating connector 60 is fitted and accommodated in the recess 52B at the lower portion of the case 50 .

When the mating protrusion 72A of the mating connector 60 is accommodated in the recess 52B of the housing 50 , the contact member 20 of the electrical relay 10 protruding downward from the housing 50 enters the elastic cylindrical member 61 of the mating connector 60 . Since the contact member 20 has a cylindrical shape and a diameter slightly larger than the diameter-reduced portion 61C of the elastic cylindrical member 61, it can rotate around the axis under the condition that the inner diameter of the diameter-reduced portion 61C is enlarged to generate elastic contact pressure, and furthermore, it can be slightly tilted and displaced in the radial direction with the diameter-reduced portion 61C as a fulcrum.

The connection member 30 , which is swingably connected to the contact member 20 , is connected to a connection partner (not shown) after or before the case 50 is fitted into the mating connector 60 .

The connecting member 30 and the contacting member 20 are connected by the connecting member 40 to form a swing structure S. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Furthermore, as described above, since the contact member 20 can rotate around its axis, the connection member 30 can change its direction with a high degree of freedom around the axis of the above-mentioned connection member 40 and around the axis of the contact member 20. Therefore, even if the position of the connection object of the connection member 30 is not determined, its position can still be tracked.

In this embodiment, the connection member 30 is composed of a cable 31 and a metal part 32 clamping the core wire of the cable 31 as shown in FIGS. In Fig. 6, the contact member 20 is made into the same structure as the connection member 30. made, and the two are connected freely by the connecting member 40 in a swingable manner. In FIG. 6, on the connection member 30, the same symbols are marked for the common parts with the connection member 30 of FIG. 2, and the common parts with the contact member 20 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 6 , if the contact member 20 and the connection member 30 have the same structure, the structure can be simplified by sharing the parts of the electrical relay body 10 .

The present invention is not limited to use in a state where the electrical relay is supported by a case as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 , and it can also be used without a case and directly connected to a counterpart connector. In addition, depending on the number of terminals (elastic cylindrical body) of the mating connector, it can be used as a single electrical relay or as two or more electrical relays.

10: Electric relay

20: Contact member

23: Ring plate part

30: Connecting components

34: ring plate part

40: Connecting components

50: shell

S: swing structure

[FIG. 1] It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the mating connector together with the electric relay which is one embodiment of this invention in the state which hold|maintained by a case in a pair. [ Fig. 2 ] is a perspective view showing separately the components of one electrical relay in Fig. 1 . [FIG. 3] It is a perspective view showing how the connecting member swings for one electrical relay body assembled from the members of FIG. 2. [FIG. [FIG. 4] It is a figure which looked at the electrical relay body of FIG. 3 from the axial direction of a connection member. [ Fig. 5 ] is a cross-sectional view of the electrical relay body and housing of Fig. 1 and the counterpart connector. Fig. 5(A) shows before mating connection with the counterpart connector, and Fig. 5(B) shows after mating connection. [FIG. 6] It is a perspective view which shows the electrical relay body of another embodiment of this invention.

10: Electric relay

20: Contact member

21: Cylindrical part

30: Connecting components

31: cable

31A: skin

31B: core wire

32: metal parts

34: ring plate part

40: Connecting components

42: Pillar

50: shell

51: Partition protrusion

52A, 52B: concave part

53: Intermediate wall

53A: Support hole

60: Opposite connector

61: elastic cylindrical member

61A: Slit

61B: ring end

61C: Reduced diameter part

70: opponent's shell

72: Upper shell

72A: Mosaic protrusion

72B: Flange

73: Lower shell

73A: terminal hole

73B: ring protrusion

74: Through hole

74A: Upper section

80:Installing Metal Parts

Claims (7)

An electrical relay comprising: a columnar metal contact member extending in one axis direction, and a metal connection member electrically conductively connected to the contact member, the contact member is inserted in the axial direction of the contact member and connected to a counterpart connector, the connection member is a connection object connected to the connection member, and the contact member is characterized in that the contact member is formed in a cylindrical shape that is rotatable around the axis of the contact member relative to the terminal in a state where one end side is in contact with a terminal provided on the counterpart connector. The other end side of the contact member and the one end side of the connection member are in a swing structure capable of swinging relative to each other. The swing structure is a structure in which the contact member and the connection member are mutually supported so that the contact member and the connection member can swing relative to each other around another axis. The electrical relay body according to claim 1, wherein the above-mentioned swinging structure is a ring plate portion provided on the other end side of the contact member and another ring plate portion provided on the one end side of the above-mentioned connecting member by a connecting member extending toward the other axis so as to be swingable. The electrical relay according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the portion of the connection member extending from one end side to the other end side of the connection member includes at least one of a columnar member and a flexible cable member. The electrical relay according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the connection member is in the same form as the contact member. The electrical relay according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein at least the contact member among the contact member and the connection member is held by the housing. The electrical relay according to claim 3, wherein, among the contact member and the connection member, at least the contact member is held by the housing. The electrical relay according to claim 4, wherein, among the contact member and the connection member, at least the contact member is held by the housing.

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