JP2012018803A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a connector capable of further improving vibration resistance and preventing occurrence of terminal wear and contact resistance increase due to vibration.
A backlash preventing member is provided for restricting movement of an opening of a second terminal housing when a male connector portion and a female connector portion are in a fitted state. The long plate portion 51 is formed to have a J-shaped cross section in which the plate portion 51 and the short plate portion are connected to each other and sandwich the upper and lower surface portions of the second terminal housing 21 from the inner and outer surfaces of the second terminal housing 21. Is attached so as to be disposed on the outer surface side of the second terminal housing 21.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention is a technology that can be used in, for example, a connector of a power harness that is used in an eco-car such as a hybrid vehicle and an electric vehicle, and particularly used when transmitting a large amount of power.

  In recent years, in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles that have made significant progress, power harnesses are used to transfer large amounts of power between devices, such as between a motor and an inverter, or between an inverter and a battery. It has been. The power harness includes, for example, a male side connector portion including a male terminal and a first terminal housing that accommodates the male terminal, a female terminal connected to the male terminal, and a first terminal that accommodates the female terminal. A two-divided connector comprising a female connector portion having a two-terminal housing is used (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In a two-part connector, the male connector portion and the female connector portion are switched between a fitted state and a non-fitted state, that is, the male connector portion is detached from the female connector portion (from the male connector portion). (This is also the attachment / detachment of the female connector portion) by a rotating lever that rotates about a rotating shaft provided on both side surfaces of the female connector portion.

  The operation mechanism related to the rotation lever includes a rotation shaft, slide shafts provided on both side surfaces of the male connector portion, slide curved holes provided on both sides of the rotation lever, and both side surfaces of the female connector portion. This is accomplished by the slide linear hole provided in the. First, the slide shaft is inserted into the slide linear hole, and the male connector portion and the female connector portion are temporarily fitted. Then, the slide shaft is moved along the slide curved hole by turning the turning lever. Thus, since the male connector portion is attracted to the female connector portion, the fitting state between the male connector portion and the female connector portion can be easily achieved. At the same time, the male terminal and the female terminal are connected inside the first and second terminal housings.

JP 2009-070754 A

  In some conventional connectors, the first and second terminal housings are made of aluminum in order to provide an electromagnetic wave shielding function. In the case of this configuration, in order to prevent the two terminal housings from interfering with each other and becoming unable to be fitted, and taking into account dimensional variations during manufacturing of the first and second terminal housings, a certain amount of space between the two terminal housings is required. It is necessary to provide a gap.

  However, when this connector is used in an engine room or the like of a car that generates vibrations, the vibrations cause backlash between the first and second terminal housings. And the contact part of the male terminal provided in both terminal housings and a female terminal repeats sliding. For this reason, the plating by tin or silver applied to the male terminal or the female terminal at the contact portion is worn out. Moreover, when the copper of the base | substrate of a male terminal and a female terminal is exposed by abrasion of plating, copper oxidizes and the problem that the resistance of the contact part of a male terminal and a female terminal increases arises.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a locking member that clamps the side surface portion of the male connector portion inserted into the female connector portion during the fitting operation and suppresses rattling between the first and second terminal housings due to vibration. Is provided on the rotating lever to prevent rattling between the first and second terminal housings.

  However, even if the conventional measures for preventing rattling including the locking member proposed in Patent Document 1 are used, there is a problem in that terminal wear and contact resistance increase due to vibration occur.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of further improving vibration resistance and preventing occurrence of terminal wear, contact resistance increase, and the like due to vibration. There is.

  The present invention devised to achieve the above object includes a male connector portion including a male terminal and a first terminal housing that accommodates the male terminal, a female terminal connected to the male terminal, and the female terminal. A female-side connector portion provided with a second terminal housing for housing the male-side connector portion, both sides of the male-side connector portion are provided with slide shafts, A slide linear hole into which the slide shaft is inserted and a pivot lever that pivots around the pivot shaft are provided, and slide curved holes into which the slide shaft is inserted are provided on both sides of the pivot lever. The male side connector part and the female side connector part are fitted by rotation of the rotary lever, and the male side connector part and the female side connector A backlash preventing member that restricts movement of the opening of the second terminal housing when the cuter portion is in a fitted state, and the backlash preventing member has a cross section in which the long plate portion and the short plate portion are connected to each other. The long plate portion is disposed on the outer surface side of the second terminal housing so as to sandwich the upper and lower surface portions of the second terminal housing from the inner and outer surfaces of the second terminal housing. It is a connector characterized by being attached like this.

  A lance portion that engages with the second terminal housing is formed on the long plate portion of the backlash prevention member, and an engagement portion that engages with the lance portion is formed on the second terminal housing. good.

  Each of the upper and lower surface portions of the first terminal housing may have an outer surface tapered toward the opening side.

  The second terminal housing may be formed with a rib for restricting movement of the backlash preventing member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, vibration resistance can be improved and generation | occurrence | production of the abrasion of the terminal resulting from a vibration, the increase in contact resistance, etc. can be prevented.

It is a perspective view of a power harness provided with the connector concerning the present invention, and is a figure before attaching a backlash prevention member. It is explanatory drawing explaining a mode that the male connector part and the female connector part isolate | separated regarding the connector which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the inside of the 1st terminal housing of a male side connector part regarding the connector which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining that the male terminal and the apparatus side male terminal are integrally formed regarding the connector which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the resonance which generate | occur | produces in a female connector part in a high frequency. It is a perspective view of the power harness provided with the connector which concerns on this invention, and is a figure after attaching the rattle prevention member. It is a figure which shows a backlash prevention member, (a) is an upper side perspective view, (b) is a lower side perspective view. It is sectional drawing of the connector which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, the connector according to the present invention and its problems will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 2 according to the present invention is provided on at least one end side of the power harness 1, and when the male connector section 3 and the female connector section 4 are fitted (see FIG. 1). State), the male terminal 5 provided in the storage space in each connector portion and the female terminal 6 paired therewith are electrically connected to each other.

  The power harness 1 can be used, for example, to connect between a motor and an inverter that drive a HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) that can reduce emission of toxic gas and has a significant fuel reduction effect. A large amount of current is applied.

  Switching between the fitting state (state of FIG. 1) and the non-fitting state (state of FIG. 2) between the male connector part 3 and the female connector part 4, that is, the male connector part 3 from the female connector part 4 The attachment / detachment (which is also the attachment / detachment of the female connector portion 4 from the male connector portion 3) is performed by a rotating lever 8 that rotates around the rotating shafts 7 provided on both side surfaces of the female connector portion 4. .

  When the rotating lever 8 is in the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, in the position of the lock portion 9, the male connector portion 3 and the female connector portion 4 are in a fitted state, while the rotating lever 8 is When deviating from the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, when deviating from the position of the lock portion 9, the male connector portion 3 and the female connector portion 4 are in a non-fitted state. The operation mechanism related to the rotation lever 8 includes a rotation shaft 7, slide shafts 10 provided on both side surfaces of the male connector 3, slide curved holes 11 provided on both sides of the rotation lever 8, and This is achieved by the slide linear holes 12 provided on both side portions of the female connector portion 4. That is, by the turning operation of the turning lever 8, the slide shaft 10 moves along the slide curved hole 11, and the male connector portion 3 is attracted to the female connector portion 4. Therefore, the fitting state (state of FIG. 1) between the male connector part 3 and the female connector part 4 can be easily achieved. Furthermore, in the fitting state, the connector 2 also exhibits a waterproof function.

  Next, the male connector part 3 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the male-side connector portion 3 is provided with at least three (three poles) male terminals 5 arranged in a substantially straight line and the three male terminals 5. Three male terminals 5 are formed by forming a resin-made first main body portion 14 stored in a predetermined storage space A of the terminal housing 13 and a first housing opening 15 that faces the tip portions of the three male terminals 5. And a first terminal housing 13 for storing the first main body 14 in a predetermined storage space A.

  Each of the three male terminals 5 has one end facing the first housing opening 15, while the other end is arcuate and engages with a projection (not shown) on the device side. It is connected to a plate-shaped device-side male terminal 17 in which the device connection hole 16 is formed (actually, the male terminal 5 and the device-side male terminal 17 are formed of the same member and are integrally formed). In addition, this apparatus side male terminal 17 is connected to the inverter side in this embodiment.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the male terminal 5 to be inserted into the female terminal 6 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a pair of side wall portions 23 and means for holding the female terminal 6 to be described later. And a bottom portion 24 that comes into contact. This is a device that increases the cross-sectional area and the surface area, and contributes to the reduction of heat generation during energization and the improvement of heat dissipation during energization. In addition, there is an effect of preventing damage and deformation of the resin-made first main body portion 14 on which the male terminal 5 is provided.

  Further, with respect to the male terminal 5 formed in a substantially U-shape, the front surface 23a of the pair of side wall portions 23 is located in front of the front surface 24a of the bottom portion 24, and as shown in FIG. The end part including the front surface 23a of the side wall part 23 is configured to protrude. In addition, the recessed part 25 is formed in the both ends of the edge part 24b of the bottom part 24, respectively. Thereby, at the male terminal 5, the rubber cap for making it difficult for foreign objects, such as a finger, to touch directly becomes easy to catch. Further, the distance between the pair of side wall portions 23 is such that a finger cannot be inserted.

  The first terminal housing 13 is made of metal (for example, aluminum), and its internal space forms a predetermined storage space A. In the present embodiment, the predetermined storage space A refers to an internal space from the end side of the first main body 14 to the first housing opening 15. The first terminal housing 13 includes a protruding portion 29 that is provided at a position facing the upper and lower surfaces of the bottom portion 24 of the male terminal 5 and protruding into a predetermined storage space A so as to sandwich the male terminal 5 from above and below. It has been. Similar to the rubber cap described above, the protruding portion 29 has an effect of making it difficult for a foreign object such as a hand or a finger to touch the male terminal 5 directly.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the first terminal housing 13 is between a protruding portion 29 and a protruding portion 29 to be described later, or between the male terminal 5 and the male terminal 5, and is predetermined. The guide piece 36 which protrudes toward the inner side of the storage space A is provided. The guide piece 36 is configured to engage with a guide groove 37 (see FIG. 2) provided in the storage space of the female connector portion 4 so that the male terminal 5 and the female terminal 6 are smoothly connected. ing.

  A flange portion 27 is formed on the outer surface of the first terminal housing 13 on the side close to the device-side male terminal 17. At the four corners of the flange portion 27, flange holes 28 that can be used when attached to the device are formed.

  In the present embodiment, the first main body portion 14 is made of an insulating resin, and the entirety thereof is built in the first terminal housing 13. However, the first body portion 14 is not built in. Also good. That is, for example, the first terminal housing 13 may be attached so as to cover an end portion that is a part of the first main body portion 14. However, when this configuration is adopted, the portion corresponding to the flange portion 27 in the present embodiment is preferably formed on the first main body portion 14.

  The first main body 14 is made of resin, and after the insert product (male terminal 5 and device-side male terminal 17) is loaded into the mold, the resin is injected and the insert product is wrapped with molten resin and solidified. It is manufactured by integrated insert molding.

  A vibration absorbing mat 44 for absorbing vibration is affixed to the first main body portion 14. This contributes to improving the stability of the fitting state between the male connector part 3 and the female connector part 4.

  Next, the female connector part 4 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 4 includes at least three female terminals 6 that are paired with three male terminals 5 and three female terminals 6 that face the ends of the three female terminals 6. A female terminal box 19 that forms the terminal opening 18 and accommodates the three female terminals 6 in the respective predetermined storage spaces, and a second main body portion in which the three female terminals 6 and the female terminal box 19 are provided (illustrated). 2) a second terminal housing that forms a second housing opening 20 that allows the three female terminal openings 18 to face and accommodates the female terminal box 19 and the second main body (not shown) in a predetermined storage space. 21.

  The female terminal box 19 is made of resin, and has three storage spaces in which the three female terminals 6 can be stored. That is, the female terminal box referred to in the present embodiment may be anything as long as a plurality of storage spaces for storing the female terminals are formed.

  The female terminal 6 is connected to an electric wire 22 at one end. The electric wire 22 to be connected is an electric wire excellent in heat resistance and oil resistance, and has, for example, a configuration of a central conductor (copper or aluminum) -insulator (crosslinked polyethylene) -shield-seal. Note that the main body of the female terminal 6 is formed in a substantially box shape, and is provided with clamping means (not shown) for clamping the male terminal 5 from above and below.

  Next, the structure which suppresses the vibration of the connector of the 2 division structure which is the principal part of this invention is demonstrated.

  The present inventor has intensively studied the vibration of the connector that still occurs even when the conventional measures against rattling are used, and resonates at the tip of the second terminal housing 21 (second housing opening 20) particularly at a high frequency. Found that has occurred. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, both side surface portions of the female connector portion 4 are provided on both side surface portions of the male connector portion 3 when the male connector portion 3 and the female connector portion 4 are fitted. A slide straight hole 12 for pulling the slide shaft 10 is provided. The occurrence of resonance at a high frequency is because the slide linear hole 12 is formed in the second terminal housing 21 so that the second housing opening 20 which is the tip of the second terminal housing 21 when a high frequency vibration is applied is shown. This is due to opening (vibrating) in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, the present invention prevents rattling that restricts the movement of the distal end portion (second housing opening portion 20) of the second terminal housing 21 when the male connector portion 3 and the female connector portion 4 are in a fitted state. It has a member. The backlash preventing member preferably sandwiches the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion of the second terminal housing 21 from above and below.

  As shown in FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B, the rattle prevention member 50 in the present embodiment is formed in a J-shaped cross section in which a long plate portion 51 and a short plate portion 52 are connected. At the same time, the upper and lower surface portions of the second terminal housing 21 are attached so as to be sandwiched from the inner and outer surfaces of the second terminal housing 21 and the long plate portion 51 is disposed outside the second terminal housing 21.

  A lance portion 53 that engages with the second terminal housing 21 is formed on the long plate portion 51 of the backlash preventing member 50. The lance portion 53 is formed so as to extend in the shape of a tongue that forms the same surface as the long plate portion 51 with the portion where the long plate portion 51 and the short plate portion 52 are connected as the root. Further, the lance portion 53 has a claw portion 54 that protrudes toward the second terminal housing 21 so as to engage with the second terminal housing 21 at the tip portion thereof.

  Correspondingly, an engaging portion 55 that engages the claw portion 54 of the lance portion 53 is formed on the outer side of the second terminal housing 21 (on the outer surface side of the upper and lower surface portion to which the backlash preventing member 50 is attached) ( (See FIG. 1).

  Thereby, when the rattle prevention member 50 is attached to the upper and lower surface portions of the second terminal housing 21, the claw portion 54 is engaged with the engagement portion 55, and the rattle prevention member 50 is prevented from being detached from the second terminal housing 21. it can.

  On the other hand, when removing the rattle prevention member 50 from the second terminal housing 21, the lance portion 53 is pushed up in a direction away from the second terminal housing 21, and then the rattle prevention member 50 is slid toward the second housing opening 20. Can be removed.

  As described above, since the rattle prevention member 50 can be easily attached and detached, the assembly efficiency at the time of production or maintenance is good, and the manufacturing time and maintenance work time are greatly increased by the attachment of the rattle prevention member 50 as compared with the current situation. Never do.

  Further, on the outer side of the second terminal housing 21 (the outer surface side of the upper and lower surface portions to which the anti-rattle member 50 is attached), ribs 56 that restrict the movement of the anti-rattle member 50 are formed (see FIG. 1). The ribs 56 are formed at two locations so as to sandwich both side surfaces of the backlash preventing member 50 and prevent backlash in the side surface direction of the backlash preventing member 50.

  The engagement portions 55 and the ribs 56 prevent the rattle prevention member 50 itself from rattling.

  When the male side connector portion 3 and the female side connector portion 4 are fitted to each other, the backlash preventing member 50 has a short plate portion 52 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first terminal housing 13 and the inner periphery of the second terminal housing 21. The first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21 are interposed between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21, and the fitting between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21 is made stronger. 2 The movement of the housing opening 20 is restricted.

  Here, the reason why the cross-sectional shape of the backlash preventing member 50 is J-shaped will be described.

  When the backlash preventing member 50 is attached to the second terminal housing 21, the lance portion 53 bends like a leaf spring by the protruding height of the claw portion 54 and slides outside the second terminal housing 21. Is disposed immediately above the engaging portion 55, the lance 53 is released from bending and the claw portion 54 engages with the engaging portion 55.

  At this time, if the length of the lance part 53 is short, the lance part 53 slides on the outside of the second terminal housing 21 in a greatly bent shape, and an excessive load is applied to the lance part 53. There is a possibility that the lance 53 may be broken and damaged.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to avoid such a problem, the lance portion 53 is formed on the long plate portion 51 that is formed longer than the short plate portion 52, and the backlash preventing member 50 is attached to the second terminal housing 21. When attaching or detaching, the load applied to the base of the lance 53 is reduced as much as possible.

  On the other hand, in order to effectively suppress the vibration in the second housing opening 20 which is the tip of the second terminal housing 21 when high-frequency vibration is applied, the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21 are fitted to each other. In the combined state, it is preferable that the backlash preventing member 50 is interposed so as to completely fill the clearance between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21.

  However, the reason why clearance is provided in the first place is to prevent both terminal housings from interfering with each other so that they cannot be fitted together. As the clearance becomes smaller, the fitting becomes easier (fitting property). Will decline.

  Further, a problem in applying high-frequency vibration is vibration in the second housing opening 20 which is the tip of the second terminal housing 21. That is, if the clearance in the second housing opening 20 can be filled, it is sufficient for suppressing vibration.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to achieve both compatibility and vibration suppression (rattle prevention), the portion of the rattle prevention member 50 arranged inside the second terminal housing 21, that is, the short plate portion 52 is long. It is formed shorter than the plate part 51.

  For this reason, the backlash preventing member 50 is formed in a J-shaped cross section including a long plate portion 51 and a short plate portion 52.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the front end portion (second housing opening portion 20) of the second terminal housing 21 from opening up and down and resonating. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of terminal wear and increase in contact resistance due to vibration. Further, reliability of electrical connection and long-term durability can be ensured.

  Furthermore, by forming the rattle prevention member 50 with a J-shaped cross section, it is possible to achieve both fitting properties between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21 and vibration suppression of the second housing opening 20. it can.

  Since the second housing opening 20 of the second terminal housing 21 vibrates in the vertical direction, it is effective to restrict the movement of the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion of the second terminal housing 21 in order to prevent resonance. In particular, it is effective to suppress the movement in the vicinity of the tip of the second terminal housing 21. For this reason, also in the present embodiment, the backlash prevention member 50 is configured to be attached to the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion of the second terminal housing 21 in the vicinity of the second housing opening 20.

  As the backlash preventing member 50, a resin can be used. The resin used for the rattle prevention member 50 preferably has heat resistance (for example, heat aging characteristics at high temperature, maintenance of strength and rigidity), and for example, PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) or Zytel (registered trademark) is used. be able to.

[Other Embodiments]
In order to further improve the fit between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the upper and lower surfaces of the first terminal housing 13 has its opening side (that is, the first terminal housing 13). The outer surface may be tapered toward the housing opening 15 side.

  In this configuration, in the initial stage of fitting between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21, the upper surface portions and the lower surface portions of the two terminal housings do not contact each other, and as the fitting proceeds, a rattle prevention member With the effect of 50, the fitting gradually becomes stronger. In the latter half of the mating, the clearance between the first terminal housing 13 and the second terminal housing 21 is reduced, so that the fitting performance is lowered. Due to the lever principle with 7 as a fulcrum, the fitting can proceed easily without worrying about the decrease in fitting properties.

  In the above-described embodiment, the slide straight holes 12 are provided on both side surfaces of the female connector portion 4. However, the arrangement of the rotating lever 8 is changed and the slide straight holes 12 are formed on the upper surface of the male connector portion 3. The backlash prevention member 50 may be disposed so as to prevent the first housing opening 15 of the first terminal housing 13 from vibrating in the left-right direction.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea and technical scope of the present invention. All such changes and modifications should be included in the technical idea and scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric power harness 2 Connector 3 Male side connector part 4 Female side connector part 5 Male terminal 6 Female terminal 7 Rotating shaft 8 Rotating lever 9 Locking part 10 Slide shaft 11 Slide curved hole 12 Slide linear hole 13 1st terminal housing 14 1st 1 body portion 15 first housing opening portion 16 device connection hole 17 device side male terminal 18 female terminal opening portion 19 female terminal box 20 second housing opening portion 21 second terminal housing 22 electric wire 23 side wall portion 24 bottom portion 25 recess portion 27 flange portion 28 Flange hole 29 Protruding part 30 Bottom face part 36 Guide piece 37 Guide groove 44 Vibration absorbing mat 50 Backlash prevention member 51 Long plate part 52 Short plate part 53 Lance part 54 Claw part 55 Engaging part 56 Rib

Claims (4)

A male connector part comprising a male terminal and a first terminal housing for accommodating the male terminal;
A female terminal connected to the male terminal and a female side connector portion including a second terminal housing for accommodating the female terminal,
A slide shaft is provided on both side surface portions of the male connector portion,
Both side surface portions of the female connector portion are provided with a slide linear hole into which the slide shaft is inserted, and a rotation lever that rotates around the rotation shaft,
Both sides of the rotating lever are provided with slide curved holes into which the slide shaft is inserted,
A connector in which the male connector part and the female connector part are fitted by turning the turning lever,
A backlash preventing member that restricts movement of the opening of the second terminal housing when the male connector portion and the female connector portion are in a fitted state;
The backlash preventing member is formed in a J-shaped cross section in which the long plate portion and the short plate portion are connected, and the upper and lower surface portions of the second terminal housing are sandwiched from the inner and outer surfaces of the second terminal housing. And the long plate portion is attached so as to be disposed on the outer surface side of the second terminal housing. A lance portion that engages with the second terminal housing is formed on the long plate portion of the play preventing member,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the second terminal housing is formed with an engaging portion with which the lance portion engages.   3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the upper and lower surfaces of the first terminal housing has an outer surface tapered toward the opening.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second terminal housing is formed with a rib for restricting movement of the backlash preventing member.

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