JP2014179290A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector having a structure capable of suppressing occurrence of terminal breakage caused by excess-friction or the like even when variation in the manufacturing is generated.SOLUTION: An insulation member 200 is mounted at the forward end of a male terminal 100. The male terminal 100 has a plate-shaped main part 110, and a protrusion 150 protruding forward (-X side) from the main part 110. The protrusion 150 has an inclination part 154 intersecting with the longitudinal direction (X direction). The insulation member 200 has an insulation end 210 which prevents contact with the male terminal 100, and an auxiliary part 220 extending backward (+X side) from the insulation end 210 in the longitudinal direction. The protrusion 150 and the auxiliary part 220 are arranged side by side in the width direction (Y direction).

Description

  The present invention relates to a power harness connector used to transmit a large amount of power in, for example, a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, and in particular, in a connector having a male terminal, a finger or the like comes into contact with the male terminal and receives an electric shock. It is related with the connector which has a structure which can prevent that.

  For example, in a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, and the like, a power harness is used to transmit a large amount of power by connecting a motor and an inverter or connecting an inverter and a battery. Generally, the power harness includes a male connector including a male terminal and a housing that holds the male terminal, and a female connector including a female terminal connected to the male terminal.

  With regard to this type of power harness male connector, there is a risk of electric shock if an operator's finger or the like touches the male terminal, so an insulating member is attached to the front end of the male terminal and the finger is attached to the male terminal. It has been proposed to prevent such contact.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure of this type of terminal. As shown in FIG. 20, the male terminal (plug) of Patent Document 1 includes a cylindrical plug body and an insulator attached to the plug body so as to protrude from the tip of the plug body. . The insulator has a head that protrudes from the tip of the plug body and a shaft that fits into the plug body.

JP 2000-3750 A

  In the case of the male terminal of Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that a step due to manufacturing variation may be formed between the plug main body and the head of the insulator. In particular, when the spring part of the female terminal has to climb over the step from the head of the insulator toward the plug body, there is a problem that a large force is required to insert the male terminal into the female terminal. In addition, both the male terminal and the female terminal may be damaged due to excessive wear or the like when climbing over the step.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector having a structure capable of suppressing the occurrence of terminal breakage due to excessive wear or the like even when manufacturing variations occur.

The present invention provides the first connector as
A connector comprising a male terminal and an insulating member fixed to the front end of the male terminal in the front-rear direction,
The male terminal has a plate-like main portion and a protruding portion protruding forward from the main portion,
The protruding portion has an inclined portion that intersects the front-rear direction,
The insulating member has an insulating end portion that prevents contact with the male terminal, and an auxiliary portion that extends rearward from the insulating end portion in the front-rear direction,
The protruding portion and the auxiliary portion provide a connector arranged in a width direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction.

Moreover, this invention is a 1st connector as a 2nd connector,
The surface of the auxiliary portion and the surface of the inclined portion provide a connector that intersects when projected onto a plane orthogonal to the width direction.

Moreover, this invention is a 1st or 2nd connector as a 3rd connector,
The projecting portion has a plane portion parallel to the main portion,
The flat portion provides a connector located between the inclined portion and the main portion in the front-rear direction.

Moreover, this invention is a 3rd connector as a 4th connector,
The auxiliary portion provides a connector that extends rearward beyond the boundary between the inclined portion and the planar portion in the front-rear direction.

Moreover, this invention is a connector in any one of 1st thru | or 4 as a 5th connector,
The protruding portion further includes a press-fit portion extending forward from the inclined portion in the front-rear direction,
The press-fitting portion provides a connector press-fitted into the insulating end portion from the rear side.

Moreover, this invention is a 5th connector as a 6th connector,
The thickness of the press-fitted portion provides a connector that is thinner than the thickness of the main portion.

  The connector according to the present invention has a configuration in which the protruding portion of the male terminal is provided with an inclined portion and the protruding portion and the auxiliary portion of the insulating member are arranged in the width direction. Even if the positions of each other are shifted in the vertical direction, the female terminal of the mating connector is guided to the inclined portion of the protruding portion by the auxiliary portion. That is, according to the present invention, there is no level difference that causes terminal breakage.

It is a perspective view which shows the connector by embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the connector of FIG. A test finger is also shown. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the connector of FIG. 2 along the line III--III. A test finger is also shown. It is a perspective view which shows the male terminal and insulation member which are contained in the connector of FIG. The insulating member is fixed to the male terminal. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the male terminal and insulating member of FIG. It is a top view which shows the male terminal and insulating member of FIG. It is a decomposition | disassembly top view which shows the male terminal and insulating member of FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the insulation member of FIG. 4, and the front-end | tip of a male terminal. A step is generated between the insulating member and the male terminal. It is a side view which shows the front-end | tip of the insulation member and male terminal of FIG. As shown in the figure, a step is generated between the insulating member and the male terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the insulation member of FIG. 8, and the front-end | tip of a male terminal along a XX line. As shown in the figure, a step is generated between the insulating member and the male terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the insulating member of FIG. 8, and the front-end | tip of a male terminal along the XI--XI line. As shown in the figure, a step is generated between the insulating member and the male terminal. FIG. 11 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 10 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the insulating end of the insulating member. FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 11 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the insulating end of the insulating member. FIG. 11 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 10 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the auxiliary part of the insulating member. FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 11 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the auxiliary part of the insulating member. FIG. 11 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 10 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the protruding portion of the male terminal. FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 11 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the protruding portion of the male terminal. FIG. 11 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 10 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the main part of the male terminal. FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view showing the insulating member of FIG. 11 and the tip of the male terminal. The mating contact is located on the main part of the male terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the male terminal (plug) of patent document 1. FIG.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a metal male terminal 100, an insulating member 200 fixed to a front end (−X side end portion) of the male terminal 100, and insulation. And a housing 300 made of a body, which can be fitted with a mating connector (not shown) along the front-rear direction (X direction: fitting direction).

  The housing 300 constitutes a receiving part 310 that receives a fitting part of a mating connector (not shown) and holds the male terminal 100. By this holding, the male terminal 100 and the insulating member 200 are positioned in the receiving portion 310. The size of the open end of the receiving portion 310 and the positional relationship between the receiving portion 310 and the male terminal 100 and the insulating member 200 are shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in that the test finger 20 is in direct contact with the male terminal 100. Has been decided not to.

  4 to 8, the male terminal 100 has a main portion 110 and two protruding portions 150 protruding forward from the main portion 110.

  The main part 110 has a plate-like shape extending in a plane (XY plane) defined by a width direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the front-rear direction. Two press-fitting protrusions 112 are provided in the middle of the main portion 110 in the front-rear direction. Each press-fitting protrusion 112 protrudes in the width direction. A hole 114 for connecting a power supply line is formed on the rear end side (+ X side) of the main portion 110. The male terminal 100 is press-fitted into the housing 300 from the rear end (+ X side end) of the housing 300 and is held by the housing 300 (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 11, each protrusion 150 includes a flat portion 152 that extends forward from the main portion 110, an inclined portion 154 that extends forward from the flat portion 152, and a forward portion from the inclined portion 154. And a press-fit portion 156 that extends. In other words, in the front-rear direction, the plane portion 152 is located between the main portion 110 and the inclined portion 154, and the inclined portion 154 is located between the plane portion 152 and the press-fit portion 156. As best shown in FIG. 11, the plane portion 152 is parallel to the main portion 110 and has the same size (plate thickness) as the main portion 110 in the vertical direction (Z direction) perpendicular to both the front-rear direction and the width direction. )have. The inclined portion 154 is oblique to the front-rear direction. In particular, the inclined portion 154 according to the present embodiment also crosses in the up-down direction. The press-fit portion 156 is parallel to the main portion 110 but has a size (thin plate thickness) smaller than the size (plate thickness) of the main portion 110 in the vertical direction. The protrusion 150 according to the present embodiment is obtained by punching by pressing a part of one metal plate with a die from above and below so as to have the thickness of the press-fitting part 156. The inclined portion 154 according to the present embodiment is formed when a portion corresponding to the press-fit portion 156 is pressed and compressed in the vertical direction (plate thickness direction). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inclination of the inclined portion 154 may be formed by other methods.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, the insulating member 200 includes an insulating end portion 210 that prevents contact with the male terminal 100, and an auxiliary portion 220 that extends rearward (+ X side) from the insulating end portion 210. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8, the insulating end portion 210 has a tapered portion 212 that has a narrow shape toward the tip, and an insulating main portion 214 that extends backward from the tapered portion 212. doing. The insulating main portion 214 according to the present embodiment has substantially the same size as the main portion 110 of the male terminal 100 in the vertical direction. In other words, the plate thickness of the insulating main portion 214 and the plate thickness of the main portion 110 of the male terminal 100 are designed to be the same. As shown in FIG. 11, the insulating end 210 has a recess 216 that is recessed from the rear end (+ X side end) toward the front (−X direction). However, the concave portion 216 does not penetrate the insulating end portion 210, and therefore, the concave portion 216 cannot be visually recognized from the front (−X side) of the insulating member 200. Two recessed portions 216 are formed in the insulating end portion 210 according to the present embodiment, and the press-fit portion 156 of the protruding portion 150 is press-fitted into the respective recessed portions 216 from the rear side of the insulating end portion 210. The insulating member 200 is fixed to the front end of the male terminal 100 as described above by press-fitting the press-fitting portion 156 into the recess 216.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the auxiliary portion 220 has substantially the same size as the insulating main portion 214 in the vertical direction. That is, the plate thickness of the auxiliary portion 220 is designed to be the same as the plate thickness of the main portion 110 of the male terminal 100.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 8, the auxiliary portion 220 is aligned with the protruding portion 150 in the width direction (Y direction). In particular, since there are two protrusions 150 according to the present embodiment, the auxiliary portions 220 and the protrusions 150 are alternately arranged in the width direction. That is, the auxiliary part 220 according to the present embodiment is sandwiched between the protruding parts 150. The auxiliary portion 220 extends rearward (+ X side) beyond the boundary between the flat portion 152 and the inclined portion 154 of the protruding portion 150.

  If the protruding portion 150 has the inclined portion 154 and the protruding portion 150 and the auxiliary portion 220 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other in the width direction, the manufacturing terminal of the male terminal 100 and the insulating member 200 may cause variations in the front end of the male terminal 100. Even when the insulating member 200 is attached in the vertical direction (Z direction), the auxiliary portion 220 extends to the inclined portion 154 with the spring portion provided on the female terminal or the like of the mating connector (not shown). Further, since the inclined portion 154 guides the flat portion 152 and the main portion 110, the occurrence of a problem that the male terminal 100 and the spring portion are damaged due to excessive wear or the like can be reduced. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIGS. 9 to 11, the male terminal 100 is shifted upward (+ Z side) with respect to the insulating member 200. In such a case, the step which has been a problem in the conventional connector occurs at the boundary portion between the upper portion of the insulating member 200 (the + Z side portion) and the upper portion of the male terminal 100 (the + Z side portion). On the other hand, in the case of the connector 10 according to the present embodiment, since the inclined portion 154 is provided so as to be aligned with the auxiliary portion 220 in the width direction, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. The auxiliary portion 220 has a positional relationship such that it extends forward from the middle of the inclined surface. In other words, the surface of the auxiliary portion 220 and the surface of the inclined portion 154 (inclined surface) intersect when projected onto a plane (XZ plane) orthogonal to the width direction. For this reason, an abrupt step that causes damage to the male terminal 100 does not occur at the boundary between the insulating member 200 and the male terminal 100.

  When the fitting of the connector 10 to a mating connector (not shown) having a female terminal is started, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, first, the spring of the female terminal of the mating connector (not shown). The portion 500 is guided to the insulating main portion 214 by the tapered portion 212.

  When the fitting is advanced as it is, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the spring portion 500 is positioned above the inclined portion 154 (on the + Z side), but the protruding portion 150 has a width that is the same as that of the auxiliary portion 220. Since the spring parts 500 are arranged in the direction (Y direction), the spring part 500 smoothly moves backward (+ X direction) on the auxiliary part 220 without falling on the inclined part 154.

  When the fitting is further advanced, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the spring portion 500 is smoothly guided by the inclined portion 154 to the plane portion 152 (that is, the same level as the main portion 110). Therefore, the connector 10 and the mating connector (not shown) are in a fitted state, and excessive stress is applied to the spring portion 500 until the spring portion 500 reaches the main portion 110 as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. It is also possible to prevent the spring portion 500 and the male terminal 100 from being damaged due to excessive stress.

  The present invention has been specifically described above with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and applications are possible.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the projecting portion 150 has the flat surface portion 152, the inclined portion 154, and the press-fit portion 156, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is preferable that the protrusion 150 has the flat portion 152 from the viewpoint of the manufacturing method of the male terminal 100, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the flat portion 152 may be omitted. Good. Moreover, although it is preferable that the protrusion part 150 has the press-fit part 156 from a viewpoint on the manufacturing method of the male terminal 100 and the viewpoint of the fixing method of the male terminal 100 and the insulating member 200, this invention is limited to this. For example, when the protrusion 150 is fixed to the insulating member 200 using an adhesive, the press-fit portion 156 may not be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the surface of the auxiliary portion 220 extends parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane). However, even when the male terminal 100 and the insulating member 200 are not displaced in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. The surface of the auxiliary portion 220 may be a curved surface as long as the spring portion 500 can be smoothly guided even when displaced in the vertical direction.

  For the same reason, the inclined portion 154 may be deformed. In other words, in the above-described embodiment, the surface of the inclined portion 154 is a plane oblique to the front-rear direction (X direction), but the present invention is not limited to this. The inclined portion 154 has a surface that intersects with the front-rear direction, and the surface of the inclined portion 154 may be a curved surface or the like as long as the spring portion 500 can be guided smoothly together with the auxiliary portion 220.

  In the above-described embodiment, the spring portion 500 that also serves as an electrical contact portion of the female terminal when the connector 10 and the mating connector (not shown) are fitted over the insulating member 200 and the male terminal 100. Although described as sliding, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mating connector (not shown) has a contact portion (not shown) of a female terminal (not shown) on the lower side (−Z side) separately from the spring portion 500 shown in FIG. At the same time, the spring terminal 500 presses the male terminal 100 from the upper side (+ Z side) to the lower side (−Z side) to press the male terminal 100 against the contact portion (not shown) of the female terminal (not shown). You may have a structure which makes it contact.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 20 Test finger 100 Male terminal 110 Main part 112 Press-fit protrusion 114 Hole (for connection)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 150 Protrusion part 152 Plane part 154 Inclination part 156 Press-fit part 200 Insulating member 210 Insulating end part 212 Tapered part 214 Insulating main part 216 Recessed part 220 Auxiliary part 300 Housing 310 Receiving part 500 Spring part

Claims (6)

A connector comprising a male terminal and an insulating member fixed to the front end of the male terminal in the front-rear direction,
The male terminal has a plate-like main portion and a protruding portion protruding forward from the main portion,
The protruding portion has an inclined portion that intersects the front-rear direction,
The insulating member has an insulating end portion that prevents contact with the male terminal, and an auxiliary portion that extends rearward from the insulating end portion in the front-rear direction,
The said protrusion and the said auxiliary | assistant part are the connectors located in a line in the width direction orthogonal to the said front-back direction. The connector according to claim 1,
The connector which cross | intersects when the surface of the said auxiliary | assistant part and the surface of the said inclination part are projected on the plane orthogonal to the said width direction. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The projecting portion has a plane portion parallel to the main portion,
The flat part is a connector located between the inclined part and the main part in the front-rear direction. The connector according to claim 3, wherein
The auxiliary portion is a connector that extends rearward beyond the boundary between the inclined portion and the planar portion in the front-rear direction. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The protruding portion further includes a press-fit portion extending forward from the inclined portion in the front-rear direction,
The press-fitting part is a connector press-fitted into the insulating end part from the rear side. The connector according to claim 5, wherein
The thickness of the press-fit portion is a connector thinner than the thickness of the main portion.

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