JPH07118344B2 - Discharge lamp connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a discharge lamp connector, and more particularly to a discharge lamp connector used as a bulb for automobiles.

[Prior art]

As a conventional connector of this type, as shown in FIG. 7, a male connector 1 which is a base 2 of a discharge lamp in which a pair of male terminals 3 and 3 are projectingly formed, and the male terminals 3 and 3 are provided.
Female connector 5 provided with female terminals 6, 6 that can be engaged with
The male terminals 3 and 3 are surrounded by the collars 2a and 2a, respectively, and the partition wall 6a is formed between the female terminals 6 and 6. When the connectors 1 and 5 are engaged with each other, the male terminal 3 and the female terminal 5 are engaged with each other, and the partition wall 6a is engaged with the gap 2b between the collars 2a and 2a, so that the plus side terminal and the minus side terminal are engaged. The creepage distance between the terminals is increased, and the insulation is enhanced.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional connector, the base end portion of the female terminal 6 is fixed to the female connector housing by the nut 7, and fixing the female terminal 6 to the connector housing is troublesome, and as a result, the connector is There was a problem that it took time to assemble.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art,
The aim is to provide a connector for a discharge lamp which has excellent insulation between terminals and which allows easy assembly of a female connector.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

To achieve the above object, in a discharge lamp connector according to the present invention, a male-side connector, which is a lamp base of a discharge lamp, in which a pair of male terminals is formed in a protruding manner, and the male terminal can be engaged with the pair of male terminals. A discharge lamp connector comprising a pair of female connectors that can be engaged with the male connector and that securely holds a pair of female terminals, wherein the male connector crosses an inter-terminal region approximately in the middle of the male terminals. A female connector housing in which a discharge-preventing insulating partition wall is formed to project, and the female connector is formed with a pair of partition walls that are separated from each other to form terminal housing chambers, and female terminals housed in the terminal housing chambers, respectively. And the female connector housing is integrally surrounded by the concave and convex lance engagement, and the female terminal is fixed in the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing. And a female terminal holder having a male terminal insertion hole formed therein for holding, wherein the female terminal holder is provided with a concave-convex lance engagement portion with a male connector, and the terminal housing chamber partition wall of the connector housing is formed. A hollow concavo-convex engaging portion that engages with the region and is capable of engaging with the insulating partition of the male connector is formed.

[Action]

The hollow concave-convex engaging portion of the female terminal holder engages with the region between the partition walls forming the terminal accommodating chamber of the female connector, and the male-side connector is formed in the engaging concave portion formed on the front side of the hollow concave-convex engaging portion of the female terminal holder. The discharge preventing insulating partition is engaged, and the space distance and the creepage distance between the plus side terminal and the minus side terminal are increased, and the insulation between the plus side terminal and the minus side terminal is improved.

Further, the female side connector housing surrounds and integrates the female terminal holder to prevent dust and the like from entering the female terminal accommodating chamber, and ensures insulation of the female side connector from the outside.

If the female terminal is housed in the terminal housing chamber of the female connector housing and the female terminal holder is inserted into the female connector housing by the concave and convex lance engagement, the female terminal holder holds the female terminal in the connector housing, It is integrated as a side connector.

〔Example〕

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a discharge lamp connector, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a discharge lamp connector with female terminals housed in a female connector housing, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the discharge lamp seen from the rear side. , FIG. 4 is an exploded vertical sectional view of the female connector, FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the connected state of the female connector and the male connector, and FIG. 6 is a line VI-VI shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line in which the female terminals are omitted.

In these figures, reference numeral 10 is a discharge lamp used for an automobile headlamp, and a pair of long and short lead supports 14a protruding from the front surface of an insulating lamp base 12 made of synthetic resin,
The discharge lamp body 16 is supported by 14b. A ceramic disk 12a is integrated on the front surface of the base 12, and the base end of a cylindrical UV shielding globe 50 is fixed to the disk 12a with an adhesive or the like, and the discharge lamp body 16 is a cup-shaped globe. It is surrounded by 50, and the ultraviolet rays generated in the discharge part 16a of the discharge lamp body 16 are cut by the ultraviolet shielding globe 50. Further, at the rear portion of the base 12, a cylindrical partition wall 18 protruding rearward is formed integrally with the base 12,
Male terminals 15, 15 electrically connected to the lead supports 14a, 14b by welding or the like project into the partition wall 18, and a male connector 13 is integrally formed at the rear end of the insulating lamp base 12. . One side surface of the partition wall 18 has an arc shape different from that of the other side surface, and this partition wall 18 of the female connector described later is used.
The part that engages with is also made the same shape, so that when inserting the male side connector 13 into the female side connector, it is necessary to take the ground for either one by alternating current lighting so that it will not accidentally be reversely connected. ing. An insulating partition 18a for preventing discharge is formed between the male terminals 15 and 15 so as to cross the area between both terminals.
Further, on the outer surface of the cylindrical partition wall 18, a pair of hooks 19 constituting one of the concave and convex lance engaging portions on the female connector side described later is formed.
Is projected.

Reference numeral 20 is a female connector, a connector-shaped connector housing 21 made of synthetic resin in which a pair of terminal accommodating chambers 24, 24 are formed, and female terminals 31, 31 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers 24, 24,
A female terminal holder 41 made of synthetic resin for fixing and holding the female terminal 31 in the terminal accommodating chamber 24.

A pair of partition walls 23, 23 are formed on the front surface of the connector housing 21 so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance S _1.
A terminal accommodating chamber 24 having a step 25 is formed between the housings 3, 23 and the housing outer peripheral wall 22. Further, reference numerals 23a and 23b are partition walls 23.
The vertical rib 23a extends in parallel with the
Supports the left and right side surfaces of the terminal 31 housed in the
23b engages with the constricted portion of the female terminal 31 to prevent the female terminal 31 from coming off. Reference numeral 23c is a horizontal rib for positioning the female terminal 31 in the vertical direction. Further, reference numeral 23d is a vertical rib formed only on one side of the partition wall forming the terminal accommodating chambers 24, 24, and is for eliminating erroneous assembly of the female terminal holder 41.

The female terminal 31 is formed by bending a thin metal plate cut into a predetermined shape. The female terminal 31 has a cord connection region 32 extending laterally in a U-shaped cross section and a cross section rising upward from the cord connection region 32. An L-shaped narrow extension region 33 and a rectangular frame-shaped terminal region 34, which is formed at the upper end of the extension region and engages with the male terminal 15, are integrated. . Then, the terminal area 34 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion formed by the terminal accommodating chamber forming partition wall 23 and the vertical rib 23b, and the cord insertion passage extending from the terminal accommodating chamber 24 to the outside.
The cord connection area 32 is housed in the connector 26, and the female terminal 31 is arranged in the connector housing 21. At this time, the terminal area 34 is positioned in the front-rear and left-right directions by the vertical ribs 23a and 23b.

The female terminal holder 41 is a skirt in which a pair of substantially rectangular container state regions 42 (42A, 42B) corresponding to the terminal accommodating chambers 24, 24 are integrally formed with a predetermined gap S ₂ and surround the outer peripheral wall of the housing. -Shaped outer peripheral wall 43 is integrally formed, and the hook 43a formed on the skirt-shaped outer peripheral wall 43 engages with the engaging recessed portions 22a, 22a formed on the housing outer peripheral wall 22 so as to be prevented from coming off. . Opposing side walls 42 of the rectangular container-shaped regions 42, 42
a and 42a form a hollow partition wall body 45 (see FIGS. 2 and 4), and when the terminal holder 41 is attached to the connector housing 21, the side walls 42a and 42a are just engaged with the recess H between the partition walls 23 and 23. It is supposed to meet. A pair of vertical ribs 42b, 42b extending vertically are formed in the container-shaped regions 42, 42, respectively, and the side surface of the terminal region 34 of the female terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 24 and the upper surface of the extending portion region 33 are formed. The vertical ribs 42b are adapted to be held in contact with each other. The terminal region 34 of the female terminal is surrounded by the partition wall 23, and is further covered with the rectangular container-shaped region 42 in which only the female terminal insertion hole 44 is opened. Further, the outer peripheral wall 22 of the connector housing 21 is surrounded by the skirt-shaped outer peripheral wall 43 of the terminal holder 41, and it is difficult for water, dust, etc. to enter the connector housing 21, and the female terminal
The insulation between 31,31 and the insulation between the female terminal 31 and the outside are secured.

Further, the rectangular container-shaped regions 42, 42 are the partition walls 1 of the male connector 13.
8 has a size that fits right inside, and a pair of gate-shaped overhanging portions 46 are formed on the skirt-shaped outer peripheral wall 43 so as to project therefrom.
The hook 19 of the male connector 13 is engaged with this, and an engaging recess 46a for preventing the male connector 13 from coming off is formed. Further, a male terminal insertion hole 44 is formed on each upper end surface of the container-shaped region 42 of the terminal holder 41, and when the terminal holder 41 is engaged and integrated with the female connector housing 21, the female terminal 31 is vertically moved. A male terminal 15 that is fixedly held in the terminal accommodating chamber 24 and vertically protrudes from the terminal insertion hole 44 into the terminal accommodating chamber 24 when both connectors 13 and 20 are engaged and connected.
Are to be inserted into the terminal area 34 of the female terminal. When connecting the connectors 13 and 20, it is possible to engage only when the arc-shaped part of the partition wall 18 on the male connector side is aligned with the arc-shaped part on the female connector side, so there is a risk of reverse connection between the male and female connectors. There is no Also the container-shaped area
The gap S ₂ between the 42 and 42 is large enough to be engaged with the insulating partition 18a of the male connector 13, so that the insulating partition 18a can be completely engaged in the gap S ₂ when the connectors 13 and 20 are connected. Has become.

Next, the procedure for assembling the female connector 20 and the male and female connectors
The connection procedure of 13,20 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the female terminals 31, 31 to which the lead wire L on the power feeding side is connected are housed in the terminal housing chamber 24 of the female connector housing 21, and the female terminal holder 41 is pushed in from above so that the female side is held. Engage the concave and convex lances with the connector housing 21. At this time, the hollow partition wall body 45 of the female terminal holder 41 is engaged with the recess H between the partition walls 23, 23 of the female connector housing 21, and the vertical rib 42b of the terminal holder 41 side abuts the female terminal 31. The female terminal 31 is held in the housing chamber 24 without looseness and integrated as the female connector 20. And the valve insertion hole (not shown) of the reflector
The female connector 20 is connected to the male connector 13 of the discharge lamp 10 inserted into the. The male and female connectors 13 and 20 may be connected by connecting the female connector 20 so that the male terminal 15 is inserted into the male terminal insertion hole 44, and the hook 19 formed on the outer surface of the insulating partition wall 18 may be the female side. The connector 20 is engaged with the engaging recess 46a formed in the female terminal holder 41 to prevent the connector 20 from coming off.

The state in which the male side connector 13 and the female side connector 20 are connected is shown in FIG. 5, and the insulating partition wall 18a of the male side connector 13 is inserted and arranged in the gap S ₂ of the female terminal holder 41. . Between the terminals 15 (31) and 15 (31), the opposite side walls (synthetic resin material) 42a and 42a of the terminal holder and the insulating partition (synthetic resin material) 18a having a higher insulation property than the air layer extend, and Since the space distance and the creepage distance between the terminals 15 (31) and 15 (31) facing each other are substantially the same as the protruding length of the insulating partition 18a, the insulation between the positive and negative terminals is increased. There is.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the discharge lamp connector of the present invention, the hollow concave-convex engaging portion of the female terminal holder engages with the inter-partition chamber forming partition wall region of the female connector, and the female terminal holder is formed. The electrical discharge prevention insulating partition of the male connector engages with the engaging recess formed on the front side of the hollow concave-convex engaging part to increase the space distance and creepage distance between the positive side terminal and the negative side terminal. And has excellent insulation.

The female connector housing that accommodates the female terminals is surrounded and integrated by the female terminal holder, so it is difficult for dust, water, etc. to enter the terminal housing, ensuring insulation between the female terminals and the outside. .

If the female terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber of the female connector housing and the female terminal holder is engaged with the female connector housing by the concave-convex lance, the female terminal holder accommodates and fixes the female terminal in the connector housing. Since it can be integrated as a connector, it is easy to assemble the female connector, and then connect the connectors.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a discharge lamp connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a discharge lamp connector with female terminals housed in a female connector housing, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the discharge lamp seen from the rear, FIG. 4 is an exploded vertical cross-sectional view of the female connector, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a connected state of the female connector and the male connector, and FIG.
The drawing is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI shown in FIG. 5, in which the female terminals are omitted, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional connector. 10 …… Discharge lamp, 13 …… Male connector integrally formed on the insulating lamp base, 15 …… Male terminal, 18,18a ……
Insulation bulkhead, 19 ... hook, 20 ... female side connector, 21 ...
… Female side connector housing, 22a, 43a …… concave and convex lance engagement part between female terminal holder and female side connector housing, 23 …… female side terminal accommodating chamber forming partition, 24 …… terminal accommodating chamber, 31 …… female terminal , 41 ... female terminal holder, 43 ... skirt-shaped outer peripheral wall of female terminal holder, 45 ... hollow partition wall which is a hollow concave-convex engaging portion formed in the female terminal holder, 46a ...
… Engagement recesses on the connector housing side, H …… Recesses between partition walls for forming terminal accommodating chambers, S ₂ … Gap on the recess side of the hollow concave-convex engagement part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A male-side connector fixedly holding a male-side connector, which is a lamp base of a discharge lamp, in which a pair of male terminals are formed to project, and a pair of female terminals engageable with the pair of male terminals. In a connector for a discharge lamp comprising a pair of female side connectors engageable with, the male side connector is formed with a discharge preventing insulating partition wall projecting substantially in the center between the male terminals, which crosses the inter-terminal region. The connector includes a female connector housing in which terminal accommodating chambers are formed on the outer sides of the partition walls by a pair of separable partition walls, female terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers, and the female connector housing by concave and convex lance engagement A female terminal holder in which a male terminal insertion hole is formed, which is integrally surrounded and integrally holds the female terminal in a terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing. The female terminal holder is formed with a concave-convex lance engaging portion with the male side connector, engages with the inter-partition partition wall forming region of the terminal accommodating chamber, and engages with the insulating bulkhead of the male side connector. A discharge lamp connector characterized in that a hollow concavo-convex engaging portion that can be fitted is formed.