WO2021010364A1

WO2021010364A1 - Connector

Info

Publication number: WO2021010364A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/027183
Authority: WO
Inventors: 康人竹田
Original assignee: 住友電装株式会社
Priority date: 2019-07-17
Filing date: 2020-07-13
Publication date: 2021-01-21
Also published as: JP2021018852A

Abstract

A connector (10) is provided with: a female terminal (12) which connects to an electric wire W and which is opened on one side thereof; and a housing (11) which accommodates the female terminal (12) and which has an introduction hole (35) through which a male terminal is introduced into the opening of the terminal (12). The housing (11) has the introduction hole (35), which has an opening shape including a portion larger than an outer dimension (L1) of a leading end part (22b) of the female terminal (12).

Description

connector

This disclosure relates to connectors.

Conventionally, a so-called female connector having a female terminal is known as a connector for connecting electrical devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the connector of Patent Document 1, the male terminal of the male connector is inserted through the tubular female terminal so that they come into contact with each other and become conductive.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-45761

By the way, in the above-mentioned connector, it is conceivable to detect the continuity of the female terminal by inserting a probe pin for the purpose of detecting continuity inside the tubular female terminal. When the probe pin is inserted inside the female terminal, the probe pin comes into contact with the contact portion with the male terminal. In such a case, the contact portion of the female terminal with the male terminal may be worn out, resulting in poor continuity with the male terminal.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector capable of suppressing poor continuity of terminals.

The connector of the present disclosure includes a female terminal to which an electric wire is connected and one side is opened, and a housing having an introduction hole for accommodating the female terminal and introducing a male terminal into the opening of the female terminal. The housing has the introduction hole having an opening shape including a portion larger than the external dimension of the tip portion of the female terminal.

According to the connector of the present disclosure, poor continuity of the terminal can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector in the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the introduction hole of the connector in the same embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the probe pin is introduced into the introduction hole of the connector in the same embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the connector introduction hole in the modified example. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the probe pin is introduced into the introduction hole of the connector in the modified example.

[Explanation of Embodiments of the present disclosure]
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
The connectors of this disclosure are
[1] The housing includes a female terminal to which an electric wire is connected and one side is opened, and a housing having an introduction hole for accommodating the female terminal and introducing a male terminal into the opening of the female terminal. The introduction hole has an opening shape including a portion larger than the external dimension of the tip of the female terminal.

According to the above aspect, by having an introduction hole having an opening shape including a portion larger than the external dimension of the tip portion of the female terminal, the female terminal is introduced when a probe pin that follows the opening shape of the introduction hole 35 is introduced. The tip of the probe and the probe pin can be brought into contact with each other by abutting. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sagging and damage of the contact portion of the female terminal with the male terminal, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor continuity at the female terminal.

[2] The introduction hole includes a portion in which the opening dimension in at least one of the two directions forming a plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal is larger than the external dimension of the tip of the corresponding female terminal. It is preferable to have a shape.

According to this aspect, since the opening dimension in at least one of the two directions forming the plane has an opening shape including a portion larger than the outer dimension of the tip portion of the corresponding female terminal, the outer shape of the tip portion of the female terminal is provided. When a probe pin that follows the opening shape including a portion larger than the size is introduced, the tip of the female terminal can be brought into contact with the probe pin. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sagging and damage of the contact portion of the female terminal with the male terminal, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor continuity at the female terminal.

[3] The introduction hole may have an opening shape including a portion in which the opening dimensions of both directions forming a plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal are larger than the outer dimensions of the corresponding female terminal. preferable.

According to this aspect, the opening dimensions in both directions forming the plane are larger than the outer dimensions of the tip portion of the female terminal because the opening shape includes a portion larger than the outer dimensions of the corresponding female terminal. Since the number of contact points with the probe pin can be increased when the probe pin following the opening shape including the portion is introduced, it is possible to ensure the contact between the probe pin and the female terminal and facilitate the continuity inspection.

[4] The introduction hole preferably has an opening shape notched in an X shape.
According to this aspect, since the introduction hole has an opening shape cut out in an X shape, it is possible to increase the number of contact points with the probe pin when a probe pin that follows the opening shape is introduced. Can be facilitated.

[Details of Embodiments of the present disclosure]
Hereinafter, specific examples of the connector will be described with reference to the drawings below. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and is indicated by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. In the drawings, for convenience of explanation, a part of the configuration may be exaggerated or simplified. In addition, the dimensional ratio of each part may differ from the actual one. The terms "orthogonal" and "parallel" used in the present disclosure do not include only cases where they are strictly orthogonal and parallel, but are generally orthogonal within the scope of the effects of the embodiments included in the present disclosure. , Including the case of being parallel.

The connector 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a so-called female connector, which connects electrical devices to each other by being connected to a male connector.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connector 10 has a housing 11 and a plurality of female terminals 12 housed in the housing 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the female terminal 12 has a barrel portion 21 connected to the electric wire W and a connecting portion 22 connected to the male terminal of the male connector. The female terminal 12 has a structure that is long in one direction, a barrel portion 21 is provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction, and a connecting portion 22 is provided on the other end side in the longitudinal direction. The female terminal 12 is formed by bending, for example, a conductive metal plate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connection portion 22 is partially exposed from the introduction hole 35, which will be described later, into which the male terminal (not shown) is introduced. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the connecting portion 22 is configured to have a square tubular shape. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the connection portion 22 is viewed from the introduction hole 35, the upper side, the left side part, and the right side part of the connection part 22 are exposed from the introduction hole 35. , The lower side is not exposed. The tubular connecting portion 22 is provided with a contact portion 22a that comes into contact with the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted into the connecting portion 22. The contact portion 22a is formed in, for example, an elastically deformable leaf spring portion. Therefore, an appropriate elastic force is applied when connecting to the male terminal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 11 has a housing main body 31, a front retainer 32 for preventing the female terminals 12 from coming off, and a back retainer 33 for holding the seal member S attached to the electric wire W from coming off. Both the front retainer 32 and the back retainer 33 are inserted and fixed to the tubular housing body 31 to prevent the members from coming off.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing main body 31 has a square tubular tubular portion 31a and a holding portion 31b that holds the front retainer 32 inside the tubular portion 31a. The holding portion 31b holds the front retainer 32 by, for example, fitting with the front retainer 32.

At this time, the front retainer 32 is held by the holding portion 31b, so that the terminal accommodating portion 34 is partitioned between the front retainer 32 and the housing body 31, for example. Then, each female terminal 12 is accommodated and held in each terminal accommodating portion 34. The terminal accommodating portion 34 has an introduction hole 35 opened in the same direction as the opening direction of the female terminal 12 (on the right side in FIG. 3) in front of the connecting portion 22 of the female terminal 12. That is, the housing 11 has an introduction hole 35. The introduction hole 35 is composed of a recess 36 of the housing body 31 and a recess 37 of the front retainer 32, and has a long opening shape in the vertical direction (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical opening dimension L1 of the introduction hole 35 is larger than the vertical external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b of the connecting portion 22 of the female terminal 12. The introduction hole 35 has an opening dimension L1 in the vertical direction of the introduction hole 35 extending in the opening direction of the introduction hole 35. That is, the introduction hole 35 has a base end side opening in which the tip end portion 22b communicating with the terminal accommodating portion 34 is located, and a tip end side opening formed on the surface of the housing 11 (front surface of the connector 10). It extends from the side opening to the tip side opening so as to have an opening dimension L1. The opening size of the introduction hole 35 in the left-right direction is smaller than the external size of the tip portion 22b of the connection portion 22 of the female terminal 12 in the left-right direction. Therefore, the female terminal 12 is prevented from falling out of the introduction hole 35. The vertical direction in this example corresponds to one of the two directions forming a virtual plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the connecting portion 22 of the female terminal 12.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the connector 10 of the present embodiment, by introducing a male terminal (not shown) from the introduction hole 35, the male terminal is inserted into the connection portion 22 of the female terminal 12 and is conducted with the contact portion 22a of the connection portion 22.

By the way, when the assembly of the connector 10 is completed, a continuity inspection for inspecting whether or not each female terminal 12 is housed in a regular position is performed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the probe pin P1 of the continuity inspection device is introduced from the introduction hole 35 to carry out the inspection. When the continuity inspection of the female terminal 12 is performed, the shape of the probe pin P1 of the continuity inspection device is made to follow the opening shape of the introduction hole 35. Specifically, when the probe pin P1 is introduced into the introduction hole 35 by setting the opening dimension L1 which is the vertical length of the introduction hole 35 to be larger than the external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12. The probe pin P1 comes into contact with the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12 by abutting.

The effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) By having an introduction hole 35 having an opening shape including an opening size L1 larger than the external size L2 of the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12, a probe pin P1 that follows the opening shape of the introduction hole 35 is introduced. In this case, the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12 and the probe pin P1 can be brought into contact with each other by abutting. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sagging and damage of the contact portion 22a of the female terminal 12 with the male terminal, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor continuity at the female terminal 12.

(2) The opening shape includes a portion in which the vertical opening dimension L1 which is at least one of the two directions constituting the plane is larger than the external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b of the corresponding female terminal 12. Therefore, when the probe pin P1 that follows the opening shape including the portion larger than the external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12 is introduced, the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12 and the probe pin P1 are brought into contact with each other. Can be done. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sagging and damage of the contact portion 22a of the female terminal 12 with the male terminal, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor continuity at the female terminal 12.

(3) When the female terminal 12 is half-inserted into the housing 11, when the probe pin P1 comes into contact with the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12, the female terminal 12 is pushed out of the housing 11 by the probe pin P1. It becomes. That is, it can be detected that the female terminal 12 is half-inserted.

The above embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. The above embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.

In the above embodiment, the opening dimension L1 in the vertical direction, which is one direction in two directions forming a virtual plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal 12, is larger than the external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b of the corresponding female terminal 12. Although the opening shape is large, the shape is not limited to this, and for example, the following example may be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the opening shape L3 of the introduction hole 35 in the left-right direction includes a portion larger than the external dimension L4 of the tip portion 22b of the corresponding female terminal 12. May be good. That is, an opening shape including a portion in which the opening dimensions L1 and L3 in both directions forming a virtual plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal 12 are larger than the external dimensions L2 and L4 of the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12. May be. In the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the opening shape of the introduction hole 35 is X-shaped (cross-shaped).

As shown in FIG. 7, when the probe pin P2 that follows the opening shape of the introduction hole 35 is introduced, the number of contact points between the tip portion 22b of the female terminal 12 and the probe pin P2 can be increased, which facilitates the continuity inspection. can do.

Further, the opening dimension L3 of the introduction hole 35 in the left-right direction has an opening shape including a portion larger than the external dimension L4 of the tip portion 22b of the corresponding female terminal 12, and the opening dimension L1 <external dimension L2. It may be adopted.

Further, the opening size of the introduction hole 35 in the diagonal direction intersecting the diagonal vertical direction and the horizontal direction other than the vertical direction and the horizontal direction may be larger than the external size of the tip portion 22b of the corresponding female terminal 12. ..

-In the above embodiment, the introduction hole 35 is formed by the recess 36 of the housing body 31 and the recess 37 of the front retainer 32, but for example, a configuration in which the introduction hole is provided only in the front retainer 32 may be adopted.

-In the above embodiment, the connecting portion 22 of the female terminal 12 has a square tubular shape, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a polygonal cylinder or a cylinder other than a square. Further, the shape is not limited to the tubular shape, and may be a semi-cylindrical shape in which a part is open.

• The present disclosure includes the following aspects. It should be noted that reference numerals indicating the constituent elements of the above-described embodiments are added for the purpose of merely assisting understanding without limitation.
(Embodiment 1)
A female terminal (12) including a connection portion (22) that can be connected to a male terminal,
A housing (11) including an introduction hole (35) for introducing the male terminal and accommodating the female terminal is provided.
The connection portion (22) of the female terminal includes a tip portion (22b) exposed from the introduction hole (35).
The tip portion (22b) has a first external dimension (L2; L4) in a first direction parallel to the opening surface of the introduction hole (35) on the surface of the housing (11).
A connector in which the opening surface of the introduction hole (35) has a first opening dimension (L1; L3) larger than the first external dimension (L2; L4) in the first direction.

In the first embodiment, the "opening surface" of the introduction hole 35 is formed, for example, on the surface of the housing 11 corresponding to the front surface of the connector 10. The opening surface can be referred to as a surface orthogonal to the introduction direction of the male terminal via the introduction hole 35 (in other words, the longitudinal direction of the female terminal 12 housed in the housing 11). The "first direction" is, for example, the vertical direction of the introduction hole 35 shown in FIG. In this case, the "first external dimension" is the external dimension L2 of the tip portion 22b, and the "first opening dimension" is the opening dimension L1 of the introduction hole 35 (see FIG. 3). Alternatively, the "first direction" is the left-right direction of the introduction hole 35 shown in FIG. In this case, the "first external dimension" is the external dimension L4 of the tip portion 22b, and the "first opening dimension" is the opening dimension L3 of the introduction hole 35.

(Embodiment 2)
The tip portion (22b) has a second external dimension (L4) in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and parallel to the opening surface of the introduction hole (35).
The connector of the first embodiment, wherein the opening surface of the introduction hole (35) has a second opening dimension (L3) larger than the second external dimension (L4) in the second direction.

(Embodiment 3)
The housing (11) includes a terminal accommodating portion (34) accommodating the female terminal.
The introduction hole (35) has a proximal end side opening communicating with the terminal accommodating portion (34) and where the tip end portion (22b) is located, and a tip end side opening formed on the surface of the housing. The connector according to embodiment 1 or 2, which extends from the base end side opening to the tip end side opening so as to have the first opening dimension (L1; L3).

(Embodiment 4)
The housing (11) includes a front retainer (32) for holding the female terminal (12) from coming off, and a housing body (31) having a holding portion (31b) for holding the front retainer.
The introduction hole (35) is a connector according to any one of the first to third embodiments, which is formed by a recess (36) of the housing body (31) and a recess (37) of the front retainer (32).

It is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other peculiar forms as long as it does not deviate from its technical idea. For example, some of the parts described in the embodiment (or one or more aspects thereof) may be omitted, or some parts may be combined. The scope of the invention should be established with reference to the appended claims, with the scope of claims being established along with the full range of the equivalents to which it is entitled.

10 Connector 11 Housing 12 Female terminal 21 Barrel part 22 Connection part

22a Contact part

22b Tip part 31 Housing body 31a Cylinder part 31b Holding part 32 Front retainer 33 Back retainer 34 Terminal accommodating part 35 Introduction hole 36 Recess 37 Recess L1 Opening size L2 External shape Dimensions L3 Aperture size L4 External size P1, P2 Probe pin S Seal member W Electric wire

Claims

It is provided with a female terminal to which an electric wire is connected and one side is opened, and a housing having an introduction hole for accommodating the female terminal and introducing a male terminal into the opening of the female terminal.
The housing is a connector having the introduction hole having an opening shape including a portion larger than the external dimension of the tip portion of the female terminal.
The introduction hole has an opening shape including a portion in which the opening dimension in at least one of the two directions forming a plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal is larger than the external dimension of the tip portion of the corresponding female terminal. The connector according to claim 1.
The introduction hole has an opening shape including a portion in which the opening dimensions of both directions forming a plane orthogonal to the opening direction of the female terminal are larger than the outer dimensions of the corresponding female terminal. The connector according to claim 2.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the introduction hole has an opening shape cut out in an X shape.