JP2024063949A - Connector and connector connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a connector and connector connection structure that can be efficiently connected to an electric circuit provided in a housing without increasing the size. [Solution] An equipment-side connector (10) includes two equipment-side terminals (11) and a male housing (14) fixed to an equipment housing (60), and an insertion tube portion (143) is provided on the male housing (14) and inserted into a through hole (71). The equipment-side terminals (11) include a terminal connection portion (111) that connects to a harness-side terminal (21), a circuit connection portion (113) that connects to an electric circuit inside the equipment housing (60), and a linking portion (112) that links the terminal connection portion (111) and the circuit connection portion (113). The linking portion (112) extends along a depth direction (D), and the circuit connection portions (113) are arranged along a width direction (W) and in a direction spaced apart from each other, with their tips formed to a length that protrudes outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion tube portion (143) when viewed from the depth direction (D), and the circuit connection portions (113a, 113b) are arranged at different positions in the depth direction (D). [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This invention relates to a connector and connector connection structure that is attached to a housing that houses electrical equipment such as a motor and power supply equipment such as a battery, and is connected to an electrical circuit that is connected to the electrical equipment.

Electrical equipment installed in automobiles and the like is connected to other electrical equipment, power supplies, and other electrical equipment through wire harnesses, which are bundles of insulated electric wires. In this case, the wire harnesses and the electrical equipment are connected to each other through connectors attached to each of them.
For example, a connector on the harness side as shown in Patent Document 1 is connected to a connector on the device side provided on a device such as a motor.

Specifically, the connector on the harness side is fitted and fixed into the connector on the equipment side of the motor or other device, thereby connecting the connection terminal on the harness side connector to the connection terminal on the equipment side connector, thereby electrically connecting the harness side connector and the equipment side connector.

The device-side connector is attached to a housing that has an electrical device installed inside, and the connection terminal is connected to an electrical circuit that is connected to the electrical device placed inside. The connection terminal can be connected to the electrical circuit by bending the tip end of the connection terminal, where the electrical circuit is connected, outwardly through a connection operation from the same direction.

Such device-side connectors are attached by being inserted into a mounting hole provided in the housing. However, in order to insert the device-side connector into a mounting hole provided in the housing and attach it, the outwardly bent tip portion needs to be inserted through the mounting hole, which requires the mounting hole to be made larger in diameter. When the mounting hole becomes larger in diameter, the portion of the device-side connector that is inserted into the mounting hole also becomes larger in diameter to match the mounting hole, resulting in an increase in the size of the connector.

JP 2018-181404 A

The present invention aims to provide a connector and connector connection structure that can be efficiently connected to an electrical circuit installed inside a housing without increasing the size.

This invention is a connector that fits with a mating connector and connects terminals provided on each of the connectors, and is provided with at least two connection terminals and a connector housing in which at least a portion of the connection terminals is arranged and fixed to a housing, and the connector housing is provided with an insertion attachment portion that is inserted into an attachment hole provided in the housing and attached, and the connection terminal is provided with a terminal connection portion that connects with the connection terminal of the mating connector, a circuit connection portion that is arranged inside the housing and connected to an electric circuit provided in the housing, and a connecting portion that connects the terminal connection portion and the circuit connection portion, and the connecting portion is extended along the insertion direction in which the insertion attachment portion is inserted into the attachment hole, and the circuit connection portion is arranged along the direction in which the circuit connection portions are separated from each other and along a direction that intersects with the connecting portion, and is formed with a length such that the tip protrudes outward from the outer shape of the insertion attachment portion when viewed from the insertion direction, and at least one of the circuit connection portions of the multiple connection terminals is arranged at a different position in the insertion direction.

The present invention also relates to a connector connection structure in which a first connector and a second connector are fitted together to connect two or more terminals provided on each of the first connector and the second connector, the first connector being provided with two or more electric wires each having a first connection terminal attached to its tip, and a housing that is a metal shell made of metal and in which the first connection terminal is arranged, the second connector being provided with at least two second connection terminals and a connector housing in which at least a portion of the second connection terminals is arranged and which is fixed to a housing, the connector housing being provided with an insertion attachment portion that is inserted into an attachment hole provided in the housing and the second connection terminal is connected to the first connection terminal of the first connector. The connector includes a terminal connection portion that connects the electrical circuit to the electrical circuit of the second connection terminal, a circuit connection portion that is disposed inside the housing and connected to an electrical circuit provided within the housing, and a connecting portion that connects the terminal connection portion to the circuit connection portion, the connecting portion extends along the insertion direction in which the insertion attachment portion is inserted into the attachment hole, the circuit connection portion is disposed along the direction in which the circuit connection portions are separated from each other and in a direction that intersects with the connecting portion, and is formed with a length such that the tip of the circuit connection portion protrudes outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion attachment portion when viewed from the insertion direction, and at least one of the circuit connection portions of the multiple second connection terminals is disposed at a different position in the insertion direction.

The above-mentioned circuit connection parts being arranged in a direction in which they are spaced apart and in a direction that intersects with the connecting part includes the circuit connection parts being arranged in a direction perpendicular to the connecting part, or in a direction that intersects with the connecting part at an acute or obtuse angle. The circuit connection parts may be arranged in the same direction, i.e., parallel to each other, or in different directions.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently connect to an electric circuit provided within a housing without increasing the size.
More specifically, the connector (second connector) is fitted with a mating connector (first connector) to connect terminals provided thereon, and at least two connection terminals (second connection terminals) at least a part of which is disposed inside a connector housing fixed to a housing are provided with a terminal connection portion that connects with the connection terminal (first connection terminal) of the mating connector (first connector), a circuit connection portion that is disposed inside the housing and connected to an electric circuit provided in the housing, and a connecting portion that connects the terminal connection portion and the circuit connection portion. The connecting portion extends along the insertion direction in which the insertion mounting portion is inserted into the mounting hole, and the circuit connection portion is disposed along the direction in which the circuit connection portions are separated from each other and along the direction intersecting with the connecting portion. Therefore, the circuit connection portions of the multiple connection terminals can be disposed in a direction intersecting with the insertion direction, and the electric circuit provided in the housing can be efficiently connected to the circuit connection portion.

Although the circuit connection portion is formed with a length such that its tip projects outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion mounting portion when viewed from the insertion direction, at least one of the circuit connection portions of the multiple connection terminals is disposed at a different position in the insertion direction. Therefore, the circuit connection portions disposed at different positions in the insertion direction can be inserted into the mounting hole one by one. Therefore, the mounting hole only needs to have a diameter that allows one circuit connection portion and the connecting portion of another connection terminal to pass through, and the diameter of the mounting hole can be made smaller than when multiple circuit connection portions are passed through at the same time. Therefore, the insertion mounting portion that is matched to the mounting hole can also be made smaller in diameter, and the size of the connector can be prevented from increasing.

As an aspect of this invention, inside the housing, a portion of the connection part that protrudes from the insertion attachment part may be a protruding connection part, and the protruding length of the protruding connection part of at least one of the circuit connection parts of the multiple connection terminals may be set to be longer than the protruding length of the protruding connection parts of the other connection terminals.

With this invention, by providing a circuit connection portion at the tip of the protruding connection portion, the circuit connection portions can be arranged at different positions in the insertion direction. In addition, by adjusting the length of the protruding connection portion, the circuit connection portion can be arranged at a desired position in the insertion direction.

As a further aspect of the present invention, the circuit connection portions of the plurality of connection terminals may be provided at different positions in the insertion direction, extending along an orthogonal plane perpendicular to the insertion direction.
According to this invention, the circuit connection parts that are disposed at different positions in the insertion direction can be disposed in parallel to each other, and therefore the electric circuits can be connected to the circuit connection parts from the same direction.

As a further aspect of the present invention, the connection terminal may be made of a metal plate, and the circuit connection portion may be formed by bending the connection portion in a thickness direction of the plate.
According to this invention, the circuit connection parts can be easily arranged along a direction in which the circuit connection parts are spaced apart from each other and a direction intersecting the coupling part.

As another aspect of the present invention, a distance in the insertion direction between the circuit connection parts arranged at different positions in the insertion direction may be set to be wider than a thickness of the housing in which the mounting hole is provided.
According to this invention, when one circuit connection part is inserted through the mounting hole, the other circuit connection parts are not inserted into the mounting holes, so that the circuit connection parts can be inserted through the mounting holes while avoiding each other, and the through-mounting part can be inserted through the mounting hole for mounting.

In another aspect of the invention, the mounting holes may be provided in a metal mounting base that is attached to the housing, and the distance between the circuit connection portions of the multiple connection terminals in the insertion direction may be set to be wider than the thickness of the mounting base.

With this invention, when one circuit connection part is inserted through a mounting hole, the other circuit connection part is not inserted into the mounting hole of the mounting base. Therefore, each circuit connection part can be inserted into the mounting hole without interfering with the mounting base, and the through-hole mounting part can be inserted into the mounting hole and attached to the mounting base.

This invention provides a connector and connector connection structure that can be efficiently connected to an electrical circuit provided inside a housing without increasing the size.

FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 11A and 11B are perspective views of the device-side connector as viewed from the front, right side, and bottom before being attached to the mounting base. 11A and 11B are perspective views of the device-side connector as viewed from the rear, right side, and bottom in the same state. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the device-side connector attached to the mounting base. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the device-side connector from the right side. FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the device-side connector. FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the attachment of the device-side connector to the attachment base;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
1 is an explanatory diagram of the connector connection structure 1, and Figs. 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of the connector connection structure 1 in a separated state. In detail, Fig. 1(a) shows a perspective view of the connector connection structure 1 as viewed from the front, right side and bottom, and Fig. 1(b) shows a perspective view of the connector connection structure 1 as viewed from the front, left side and top.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the connector connection structure 1 in a separated state as viewed from the back, left side, and top, and Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the connector connection structure 1 in a separated state as viewed from the front, right side, and bottom.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the harness-side connector 20 as viewed from the rear, right side and bottom.
Figure 5 shows an exploded oblique view of the device-side connector 10 as viewed from the front, right side and bottom, Figure 6 shows an oblique view of the device-side connector 10 as viewed from the front, right side and bottom before being attached to the mounting base 70, and Figure 7 shows an oblique view of the device-side connector 10 as viewed from the back, right side and bottom in the same state.

Figure 8 shows an explanatory diagram of the device-side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70, Figure 9 shows an explanatory diagram of the device-side connector 10 from the right side, Figure 10 shows an explanatory diagram of the device-side connector 10 in a plan view, and Figure 11 shows an explanatory diagram explaining the attachment of the device-side connector 10 to the mounting base 70 in a plan view.

In detail, Fig. 8(a) shows a front view of the device-side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70, and Fig. 8(b) shows a rear view of the device-side connector 10 in the same state. Note that in Fig. 8(a), the through-hole 71 and the circuit connection portion 113 on the rear side are shown by dashed lines, and in Fig. 8(b), the mounting base 70 is shown in a see-through state. Fig. 9(a) shows a right side view of the device-side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70, and Fig. 9(b) shows a right side view of the device-side connector 10 before being attached to the mounting base 70. Note that in Fig. 9, the mounting base 70 shows a vertical cross-section at the center in the width direction W.

Figure 10(a) shows a plan view of the device side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70, Figure 10(b) shows a plan view of the device side connector 10 before being attached to the mounting base 70, and Figures 11(a) to 11(e) show plan views of the device side connector 10 in various states during the process of attaching the device side connector 10 to the mounting base 70. Note that in Figures 10 and 11, the mounting base 70 shows a cross-sectional view passing through the center of the through hole 71. Also, the device housing 60 is not shown in Figures 5 to 11.

The up-down direction in FIG. 1(a) is the height direction H, the direction connecting the lower left and upper right is the width direction W, and the direction connecting the lower right and upper left is the depth direction D. Furthermore, the upper side in the up-down height direction H is the upper side Hu, and the lower side is the lower side Hd. Furthermore, the lower right side in the depth direction D connecting the lower right and upper left is the back side Db, and the upper left side is the front side Df.

For the sake of convenience in explaining the configuration of the connector connection structure 1, the direction in which the device-side connector 10 and the harness-side connector 20 are attached and detached is defined as the depth direction D. The direction in which the harness-side connector 20 is attached to the device-side connector 10 is defined as the back side Db, and the direction in which the harness-side connector 20 is removed from the device-side connector 10 is defined as the front side Df. Furthermore, the directions perpendicular to the depth direction D are set as the width direction W and the height direction H. However, this does not stipulate any directions with respect to the configuration of the device-side connector 10, harness-side connector 20, and connector connection structure 1.

The connector connection structure 1 of the present invention is a connection structure in which a harness side connector 20 and an equipment side connector 10 are fitted together to connect terminals (equipment side terminal 11, harness side terminal 21) provided on each of them.
The equipment side connector 10 is provided with two equipment side terminals 11, and a male housing 14 in which at least a portion of the equipment side terminals 11 are arranged and which is fixed to the equipment housing 60, and the male housing 14 is provided with an insertion tube portion 143 which is attached by being inserted into a through hole 71 of a mounting base 70 attached to the equipment housing 60.

The device side terminal 11 includes a terminal connection part 111 that connects to the harness side terminal 21 of the harness side connector 20, a circuit connection part 113 that is disposed inside the device housing 60 and is connected to an electrical circuit that is connected to an electrical device provided inside the device housing 60, and a connection part 112 that connects the terminal connection part 111 and the circuit connection part 113.

The connecting portion 112 extends along the depth direction D in which the insertion tube portion 143 is inserted into the through hole 71, and is arranged in the direction in which the circuit connection portions 113a, 113b are separated from each other and along the width direction W that intersects with the connecting portion 112. The connecting portion 112 is formed to a length such that the tip of the connecting portion 112 protrudes outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion tube portion 143 when viewed from the depth direction D, and the circuit connection portions 113 of the two device side terminals 11 are arranged at different positions in the depth direction D.

The connector connection structure 1, the device side connector 10, and the harness side connector 20 will be described in detail below.
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector connection structure 1 is a connection structure that connects an equipment side connector 10 to which an electrical circuit that is connected to electrical equipment such as an electrical component such as a motor or an electrical device such as a power supply device mounted on an automobile or the like is connected, and a harness side connector 20 attached to a wire harness 200 that bundles high-voltage wires 201, and fixes the connection state with a fixing bolt 30, thereby establishing an electrically and physically stable connection state.

First, a harness side connector 20 constituting a connector connection structure 1 will be described with reference to Figs.
The harness-side connector 20 is attached to the above-mentioned device-side connector 10 to constitute the connector connection structure 1, and is a connector that connects the device-side terminals 11 of the device-side connector 10 to the harness-side terminals 21 arranged inside.

The harness side connector 20 includes a wire harness 200, a harness side terminal 21 attached to the end of a high-voltage wire 201 that constitutes the wire harness 200, an inner housing 22, a housing shell 23, a housing seal 24, a housing seal cover 25, a wire seal 26, a shell seal 27, and a wire holding portion 28.

The harness side terminal 21 is a high voltage terminal attached to the wire conductor 202 exposed from the tip of the high voltage wire 201, which is covered with an insulating coating 203. In the case of a wire harness 200 made up of two high voltage wires 201, a harness side terminal 21 is attached to each high voltage wire 201, and the harness side connector 20 has two harness side terminals 21. In addition, the wire harness 200 is covered with a braided wire (not shown).

The internal housing 22 holds the two harness side terminals 21 at predetermined positions inside the harness side connector 20, and includes a harness insertion tube 221 through which the wire harness 200 is inserted, and a holding section main body 222 that holds the harness side terminals 21 provided at the tip of the wire harness 200 inserted into the harness insertion tube 221. The internal housing 22 is made of resin.

The harness insertion tube portion 221 is a cylindrical body that is elliptical (oval-shaped) when viewed from the bottom with an open end (lower end) on the lower side Hd, and an end (upper end) on the upper side Hu that is connected to the inside of the holding portion main body 222.
A through hole 223 is provided at the upper side Hu and at the center in the width direction W of the harness insertion tube portion 221, through which a fixing bolt 30 (described later) can pass in the depth direction D.

The holding portion main body 222 is disposed at the end of the upper side Hu of the harness insertion tube portion 221, has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open back side Db, and is configured to hold the harness side terminal 21 therein.
As shown in FIG. 4, the holding portion main body 222 is configured with double walls, that is, an outer wall 222a and an inner wall 222b, and is configured to hold the harness side terminal 21 inside the inner wall 222b.

The space between the outer wall 222a and the inner wall 222b is where the hood portion 142 of the male housing 14 of the device-side connector 10 (described later) is inserted when the device-side connector 10 and the harness-side connector 20 are assembled, and where the housing seal 24 is attached.

The housing shell 23 covers the outside of the inner housing 22 and forms the outer shape of the harness side connector 20 .
The housing shell 23 is slightly larger than the inner housing 22 and includes a harness insertion tube outer portion 231 and a shell body 232 .

In more detail, the harness insertion tube exterior 231 is a cylindrical body that is slightly larger than the harness insertion tube portion 221, through which the wire harness 200 is inserted, and has an elliptical shape when viewed from the bottom, with an open end on the lower side Hd, so that the harness insertion tube portion 221, through which the wire harness 200 is inserted, is located inside, and the end on the upper side Hu is connected to the inside of the shell main body 232.

The lower side Hd of the harness insertion tube exterior 231 is provided with an opening 236 that opens a portion of the lower side Hd of the inner side Db of the cylindrical body that is elliptical when viewed from the bottom. In addition, the end of the lower side Hd of the harness insertion tube exterior 231 is provided with a wire holding portion 28, which will be described later.

The shell body 232 is disposed at the end of the upper side Hu of the harness insertion tube exterior 231, is larger than the retaining portion body 222 disposed inside, and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open back side Db.
In addition, in the shell main body 232 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the rear side Db open, the harness side terminal 21 is exposed on the rear side Db as a fitting opening 235. Also, a cover part 233 is provided on the upper side Hu of the shell main body 232, and a bolt hole 237 through which the fixing bolt 30 is inserted in the depth direction D is provided near the center in the height direction H.

The cover portion 233 is a triangular pyramid-shaped frustum in front view that protrudes upward from the shell body 232, and is formed to surround the fixing protrusions 144 and fixing bolts 15 that fix the male housing 14 of the device-side connector 10 to the mounting base 70 provided on the device housing 60.

In addition, the housing shell 23 that contains the inner housing 22 is attached to a metal mounting base 70 by screwing in the fixing bolts 30 described later, and is electrically and physically connected to the metal mounting base 70, and is made of metal so as to provide electromagnetic shielding.
The housing shell 23 thus configured is configured by assembling split shells obtained by dividing the shell main body 232 in the height direction H.

The housing seal 24 is made of rubber and has a ring shape that is rectangular in plan view and matches the shape of the inner wall 222b of the holder main body 222 in a rear view.
The housing seal 24 is a sealing material that fits externally against the inner wall 222b of the inner housing 22 and seals between the male housing 14 of the equipment side connector 10 (described later) and the inner housing 22 of the harness side connector 20 when the equipment side connector 10 and the harness side connector 20 are in an assembled state.

The housing seal cover 25 is attached to the inner wall 222b of the internal housing 22 from the rear side Db in the depth direction D, and fixes the housing seal 24 arranged in the holding portion main body 222 of the internal housing 22.

The wire seal 26 has an insertion hole 261 through which the two high-voltage electric wires 201 are inserted, and is a sealing member that seals between the high-voltage electric wires 201 inserted into the harness insertion tube 221 and the inner surface of the harness insertion tube 221. Therefore, the wire seal 26 is formed in an elliptical shape that can be placed inside the harness insertion tube 221.

The shell seal 27 is a sealing member that fits around the harness insertion tube portion 221 of the internal housing 22 and seals between the harness insertion tube portion 221 and the harness insertion tube exterior 231. The shell seal 27 is formed in an elliptical shape that can be fitted around the harness insertion tube portion 221.

The electric wire holding portion 28 provided at the end of the lower side Hd of the harness insertion tube exterior 231 holds the high-voltage wire 201 inserted into the harness insertion tube portion 221 in the harness insertion tube exterior 231, and has an electric wire insertion hole 281 through which the high-voltage wire 201 is inserted.

Two electric wire insertion holes 281 are provided at a predetermined distance in the width direction W to correspond to the two high-voltage wires 201 that make up the wire harness 200, and the electric wire insertion holes 281 are formed to have the same diameter as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the high-voltage wires 201 that are inserted.

In addition, the wire holding portion 28 has a wire insertion hole 281 on the lower side Hd of the harness insertion tube exterior 231 that holds the inserted high-voltage wire 201, and is provided with a fixed side holding portion 282 that is integral with the harness insertion tube exterior 231 and an attachment holding portion 283 that is attached to the fixed side holding portion 282 on the lower side Hd of the harness insertion tube exterior 231, and a fixing bolt 284 that fixes the attachment holding portion 283 assembled to the fixed side holding portion 282.
The mounting holder 283 can be fixed to the fixed holder 282 by assembling the mounting holder 283 to the fixed holder 282 of the harness insertion tube exterior 231 and screwing in a fixing bolt 284 .

The harness side connector 20, whose elements are configured in this manner, is fitted and connected to the equipment side connector 10 described later. The fixing bolt 30, which fixes the connection, is a metal bolt having a bolt head 32 at the end of a screw shaft portion 31 which screws into a screw hole 74 provided in a fixing convex portion 73 of the mounting base 70.
The screw shaft portion 31 is formed to be shorter than the length in the depth direction D of the shell body 232 of the housing shell 23 of the harness side connector 20 .

Next, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a device-side connector 10 that is attached to a mounting base 70 provided in a device housing 60 in which an electric device is disposed will be described.
The mounting base 70 is attached to the device housing 60 shown by the dashed line, and is a base for fixing the male housing 14 and the harness side connector 20 described later.

The mounting base 70 has a vertically elongated rectangular shape that is longer in a height direction H than in a width direction W, and has a through hole 71 penetrating in a depth direction D at the center when viewed from the front.
In addition, the main surface on the front side of the mounting base 70 is a fixing main surface 72 for fixing the harness side connector 20 to be attached, and a cylindrical fixing protrusion 73 protruding toward the front side Df is provided on the lower side Hd of the through hole 71 in the fixing main surface 72, and a screw hole 74 is provided at the top of the fixing protrusion 73 into which a fixing bolt 30 for bolting the harness side connector 20 is screwed.

A screw hole 75 for fixing a male housing 14 (described later) with a fixing bolt 15 is provided in the center of the width direction W on the fixing main surface 72 on the upper side Hu of the through hole 71 .
The mounting base 70 thus configured is made of metal so as to be electrically conductively connected to the harness side connector 20 (described later) when the harness side connector 20 is attached, and to provide an electromagnetic shielding function.

The screw hole 75 into which the fixing bolt 15 that screws into the male housing 14 is provided is located opposite the screw hole 74 provided in the fixing protrusion 73 that screws into the harness side connector 20 to the mounting base 70, across the through hole 71 in which the device side terminal 11 is attached.

The screw hole 75 into which the fixing bolt 15 that screw-fixes the male housing 14 is screwed, the through hole 71 into which the equipment side terminal 11 is attached, and the screw hole 74 provided in the fixing protrusion 73 through which the harness side connector 20 is screwed to the mounting base 70 are positioned at the center of the width direction W of the mounting base 70 and are arranged in a straight line in this order along the height direction H, with a predetermined distance between each other.
The mounting base 70 thus configured is attached by an appropriate method to the device housing 60 in which the electric device is disposed.

The device-side connector 10, which is attached to a mounting base 70 provided on the device housing 60, includes a device-side terminal 11, a restriction ring 12, a device-side seal 13, a male housing 14, and a fixing bolt 15, as shown in FIG.
The equipment side terminal 11 is connected to an electrical circuit connected to an electrical device arranged inside the equipment housing 60, and is also connected to a harness side terminal 21 arranged inside the harness side connector 20, and two of them are provided, spaced a predetermined distance apart in the width direction W.

Of the two device side terminals 11, the device side terminal 11 on one side of the width direction W, that is, the first width direction Wo, is referred to as the one-side device side terminal 11a, and the device side terminal 11 on the other side of the width direction W, that is, the second width direction Ws, is referred to as the other-side device side terminal 11b.
The device side terminals 11 (11a, 11b) are made of a metal plate, and the terminal connection portion 111 (111a, 111b), the connecting portion 112 (112a, 112b) and the circuit connection portion 113 (113a, 113b) are arranged in this order from the front side Df to the back side Db in the depth direction D.

The terminal connection portion 111 is a portion that connects the harness side connector 20 and the device side connector 10 to be connected to the harness side terminal 21 .
The connecting portion 112 is a portion that connects the terminal connection portion 111 and the circuit connection portion 113, and the circuit connection portion 113 is a portion that is connected to an electrical circuit (not shown) that is connected to an electrical device arranged inside the equipment housing 60.

The terminal connection portion 111 and the connecting portion 112 are formed continuously in the depth direction D, and the main surface of the plate material is formed along the plane of the height direction H and the depth direction D. The terminal connection portion 111, which is connected to the harness side terminal 21, is disposed inside the hood portion 142 of the male housing 14 described later, and the connecting portion 112, which is continuous with the terminal connection portion 111, is formed to a length that penetrates the main body portion 141 and the insertion tube portion 143 of the male housing 14 described later, and protrudes from the insertion tube portion 143 to the rear side Db. The portion of the connecting portion 112 that protrudes from the insertion tube portion 143 to the rear side Db is called the protruding connecting portion 114.

The circuit connection portion 113 is bent at a right angle to the coupling portion 112 and formed so as to extend along a plane in the width direction W and height direction H.
The one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b of the other-side device terminal 11b are formed by bending in different directions in the width direction W with respect to the coupling portion 112 (112a, 112b).

Specifically, the one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a in the first width direction Wo is formed by bending at right angles to the one-side connecting portion 112a in the first width direction Wo, and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b of the other-side device terminal 11b in the second width direction Ws is formed by bending at right angles to the other-side connecting portion 112b in the second width direction Ws. In other words, the one-side circuit connection portion 113a and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b are formed by bending in directions away from each other in the width direction W.

The tips of the circuit connection parts 113, which are bent away from each other in this manner, are formed with a length that protrudes outward in the width direction W beyond the insertion tube part 143 of the male housing 14, which will be described later, when viewed from the depth direction D, as shown in FIG. 8.

In addition, the one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b of the other-side device terminal 11b are disposed at different positions in the depth direction D, as shown in FIG. 10.

More specifically, the one-side protruding connecting portion 114a of the one-side device terminal 11a is formed longer toward the back side Db than the other-side protruding connecting portion 114b of the other-side device terminal 11b.
The circuit connection portion 113 formed by bending the tip of the rear side Db of the connecting portion 112 (114) is such that the one-side circuit connection portion 113a provided at the tip of the rear side Db of the one-side protruding connecting portion 114a, which is formed longer toward the rear side Db than the other-side circuit connection portion 113b provided at the tip of the rear side Db of the other-side protruding connecting portion 114b, is positioned on the rear side Db.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), the distance L in the depth direction D between the other side circuit connection part 113b on the front side Df and the one side circuit connection part 113a on the back side Db, more specifically, the distance L in the depth direction D between the surface of the back side Db of the other side circuit connection part 113b on the front side Df and the surface of the front side Df of the one side circuit connection part 113a on the back side Db, is wider than the thickness of the mounting base 70 described above, i.e., the length La of the mounting base 70 in the depth direction D.

The regulating ring 12 regulates the position in the depth direction D of the device side seal 13 attached to the insertion tube portion 143 of the male housing 14 described later, and is formed in a cylindrical shape that fits around the insertion tube portion 143.
The device side seal 13 is a ring-shaped rubber seal member that is attached to an insertion tube portion 143 of a male housing 14 (described later) and seals between the insertion tube portion 143 of the male housing 14 and the mounting base 70 .

The male housing 14 is for holding the device side terminal 11 on the mounting base 70, and includes a main body portion 141 that holds the device side terminal 11, a hood portion 142 that surrounds the device side terminal 11 held by the main body portion 141, a cylindrical insertion tube portion 143 that is inserted into the through hole 71 of the mounting base 70, and a fixing protrusion portion 144 that fixes the male housing 14 to the mounting base 70 with a fixing bolt 15.

The main body portion 141 is configured to hold, in an insulated state, each of parts of the connecting portions 112 of the device-side terminals 11 arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction W.
The hood portion 142 is open on the front side Df and is formed in the shape of a peripheral wall that protrudes toward the front side Df.

The insertion tube portion 143 is disposed on the rear side Db of the main body portion 141, and is configured to insert and hold a part of the connecting portion 112 of the device side terminal 11 together with the main body portion 141. The insertion tube portion 143 is formed in a disk shape with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the through hole 71 of the mounting base 70 so that it can be inserted into the through hole 71.

The fixing protrusion 144 protrudes from the center in the width direction W to the upper side Hu of the hood portion 142, and has a mounting hole for mounting the fixing bolt 15 that screws into and fixes the male housing 14 to the screw hole 75 of the mounting base 70.

The device-side connector 10 having the individual elements thus configured has the device-side terminal 11 attached to the main body portion 141 of the male housing 14 , and the device-side seal 13 and the restriction ring 12 fitted onto the insertion tube portion 143 .
Specifically, the terminal connection portion 111 is arranged inside the hood portion 142, the connecting portion 112 is inserted through the main body portion 141 and the insertion tube portion 143, and the device side terminal 11 is attached to the male housing 14 so that the connecting portion 112 protrudes to the rear side Db from the insertion tube portion 143.

At this time, the device side terminal 11 is attached to the male housing 14 so that the one side circuit connection portion 113a of the one side terminal connection portion 111a faces in the first width direction Wo and the other side circuit connection portion 113b of the other side terminal connection portion 111b faces in the second width direction Ws, that is, so that the circuit connection portions 113 of the terminal connection portions 111 are oriented apart from each other in the width direction W.

In addition, the tip of the circuit connection portion 113 of the device side terminal 11 attached to the male housing 14 in this manner will protrude outward in the width direction W from the insertion tube portion 143 when viewed from the depth direction D, as shown in Figure 8.

Then, the insertion tube portion 143 of the male housing 14, to which the device side terminal 11, the restriction ring 12, and the device side seal 13 are assembled, is inserted into the through hole 71 of the mounting base 70, and the fixing bolt 15 attached to the fixing protrusion 144 is screwed into the screw hole 75 to fix the mounting base 70 and the male housing 14 together, completing the assembly of the device side connector 10.

However, the tips of the circuit connection parts 113 of the two device-side terminals 11 protrude outward in the width direction W from the insertion tube part 143. In other words, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the length Wx between the tips of the circuit connection parts 113 is longer than the diameter Wy of the through hole 71, so the device-side connector 10 arranged on the front side Df of the through hole 71 cannot be directly attached so that the circuit connection parts 113 are arranged on the rear side Db of the through hole 71 as shown in FIG. 10(a).

The device-side connector 10, which is disposed on the near side Df of the through-hole 71, is shifted in the second width direction Ws, and the one-side circuit connection part 113a, which is disposed on the far side Db of the other-side circuit connection part 113b, is inserted into the through-hole 71, as shown in FIG. 11(a). At this time, the other-side circuit connection part 113b, whose interval L is longer than the thickness La of the mounting base 70, is disposed on the near side Df of the mounting base 70.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 11B, the device-side connector 10 is moved in the first width direction Wo to such an extent that the one-side connecting portion 112a abuts against the first width direction Wo of the through-hole 71.
11(c), the near side Df of the device-side connector 10 is tilted in the second width direction Ws, and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b is inserted into the through-hole 71. Then, as shown in FIG. 11(d), both the one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device-side terminal 11a and the other-side circuit connection portion 113b of the other-side device-side terminal 11b pass through the through-hole 71 and can be disposed inside the device housing 60, which is the back side Db of the mounting base 70.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11(d), the inclination of the device-side connector 10 is returned to its original position, and the insertion tube portion 143 is inserted into the through-hole 71, so that the insertion tube portion 143 is inserted into the through-hole 71, as shown in FIG. 10(a).

The male housing 14 of the device-side connector 10 is fixed to the mounting base 70 in a stable manner because the insertion tube portion 143 is inserted into the through hole 71 and the fixing bolt 15 is fixed to the mounting base 70 at the fixing protrusion 144.

The harness side connector 20 is fitted to the device side connector 10 assembled to the mounting base 70 thus assembled, and the connection is completed by fixing it with the fixing bolt 30 described above, completing the connector connection structure 1 that can establish an electrically and physically stable connection state.

In more detail, the harness side connector 20 is positioned relative to the equipment side connector 10 so as to connect the equipment side terminal 11 held inside the male housing 14 of the equipment side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70 of the equipment housing 60 with the harness side terminal 21 held inside the shell body 232 of the harness side connector 20.

Then, the harness side connector 20 is moved to the rear side Db relative to the device side connector 10 attached to the mounting base 70 provided on the device housing 60, and the device side connector 10 and the harness side connector 20 are assembled.

At this time, the hood portion 142 of the male housing 14 of the device-side connector 10 is inserted between the outer wall 222a and the inner wall 222b that constitute the holding portion main body 222 arranged inside the shell main body 232, and the device-side terminal 11 and the harness-side terminal 21 come into contact.

The bolt hole 237 of the harness side connector 20 thus assembled to the device side connector 10 faces the screw hole 74 of the fixing protrusion 73 provided on the mounting base 70 in the depth direction D. Then, the fixing bolt 30 is inserted into the bolt hole 237 from the front side Df of the harness side connector 20, and the screw shaft portion 31 of the fixing bolt 30 is screwed into the screw hole 74 provided on the fixing protrusion 73 of the mounting base 70. As a result, the assembled device side connector 10 and harness side connector 20 are screwed together with the fixing bolt 30, the connection between the device side connector 10 and harness side connector 20 is completed, and the connector connection structure 1 is configured.

As described above, the device-side connector 10, which mates with the harness-side connector 20 and connects the terminals (11, 21) provided on each connector to form the connector connection structure 1, is provided with two device-side terminals 11 and a male housing 14 in which a portion of the device-side terminals 11 is disposed and which is fixed to the device housing 60. The male housing 14 is provided with an insertion tube portion 143 which is inserted into a through hole 71 provided in the device housing 60 and attached to it.

The device side terminal 11 includes a terminal connection part 111 that connects to the harness side terminal 21, a circuit connection part 113 that is disposed inside the device housing 60 and connects to an electrical circuit that is connected to an electrical device provided inside the device housing 60, and a connecting part 112 that connects the terminal connection part 111 and the circuit connection part 113, and the connecting part 112 extends along the depth direction D in which the insertion tube part 143 is inserted into the through hole 71.

The circuit connection portion 113 is disposed outside the width direction W in which the circuit connection portions 113a, 113b are spaced apart from each other, and along the width direction W that intersects with the connecting portion 112, and is formed with a length such that its tip projects outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion tube portion 143 when viewed from the depth direction D. The one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a is disposed at a different position in the depth direction D from the other-side circuit connection portion 113b of the other-side device terminal 11b. Therefore, the device-side connector 10 constituting the connector connection structure 1 can efficiently connect the device-side terminal 11 to an electrical circuit connected to an electrical device provided inside the device housing 60, without increasing in size.

In more detail, in the device-side connector 10 that fits with the harness-side connector 20 to connect the terminals provided thereon, the two device-side terminals 11, at least a portion of which is disposed inside the male housing 14 fixed to the device housing 60, are provided with a terminal connection portion 111 that connects with the harness-side terminal 21 of the harness-side connector 20, a circuit connection portion 113 that is disposed inside the device housing 60 and is connected to an electric circuit that is connected to an electric device provided inside the device housing 60, and a connecting portion 112 that connects the terminal connection portion 111 and the circuit connection portion 113. The connecting portion 112 extends along the depth direction D in which the insertion tube portion 143 is inserted into the through hole 71, and the circuit connection portion 113 is disposed outside the width direction W in which the circuit connection portions 113a and 113b are spaced apart, and along the width direction W that intersects with the connecting portion 112. Therefore, the circuit connection parts 113 of the two device side terminals 11 can be arranged in the width direction W that intersects with the depth direction D, and the circuit connection parts 113 can be efficiently connected to the electrical circuits connected to the electrical devices provided inside the device housing 60.

Although the circuit connection portion 113 is formed with a length such that the tip protrudes outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion tube portion 143 when viewed from the depth direction D, the one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a is arranged at a different position in the depth direction D. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the circuit connection portions 113a and 113b arranged at different positions in the depth direction D can be inserted into the through hole 71 one by one. Therefore, the through hole 71 only needs to have a diameter that allows the one-side circuit connection portion 113a of the one-side device terminal 11a and the other-side connection portion 112b of the other-side device terminal 11b to pass through, and the diameter of the through hole 71 can be made smaller than when the circuit connection portions 113a and 113b pass through at the same time. Therefore, the insertion tube portion 143 that is matched to the through hole 71 can also be made smaller in diameter, and the device side connector 10 can be prevented from becoming larger.

In addition, inside the device housing 60, the protruding length of the one-side protruding connecting portion 114a of the protruding connecting portion 114, which is the portion that protrudes from the insertion tube portion 143 of the connecting portion 112 in the multiple device side terminals 11, is set to be longer than the protruding length of the other-side protruding connecting portion 114b.

Therefore, by providing the circuit connection portion 113 at the tip of the protruding connection portion 114, the circuit connection portions 113a and 113b can be arranged at different positions in the depth direction D. In addition, by adjusting the length of the protruding connection portion 114, the circuit connection portion 113 can be arranged at a desired position in the depth direction D.

In addition, the circuit connection parts 113 of the multiple device-side terminals 11 are arranged at different positions in the depth direction D, extending along a plane in the width direction W and height direction H perpendicular to the depth direction D, so that the circuit connection parts 113a, 113b arranged at different positions in the depth direction D can be arranged in parallel. Therefore, an electric circuit can be connected to the circuit connection parts 113 from the same direction.

In addition, the device side terminal 11 is made of a metal plate material, and the circuit connection part 113 is formed by bending it in the plate thickness direction relative to the connecting part 112. Therefore, the circuit connection part 113 can be easily positioned outside the width direction W in which the circuit connection parts 113a and 113b are separated, and along the width direction W that intersects with the connecting part 112.

The through holes 71 are provided in a metal mounting base 70 that is attached to the device housing 60, and the distance L in the depth direction D between the circuit connection parts 113a, 113b of the multiple device side terminals 11 is set to be wider than the thickness La of the mounting base 70. Therefore, when the one side circuit connection part 113a of the one side device side terminal 11a is inserted through the through hole 71, the other side circuit connection part 113b of the other side device side terminal 11b is not inserted into the through hole 71 of the mounting base 70, and as shown in FIG. 11, each circuit connection part 113 can be inserted into the through hole 71 without interfering with the mounting base 70, and the insertion tube part 143 can be inserted into the through hole 71 and attached to the mounting base 70.

In the configuration of the present invention and the correspondence with the embodiment, the mating connector and the first connector of the present invention correspond to the harness side connector 20,
Similarly,
The connector and the second connector correspond to the device-side connector 10,
The connection terminal and the second connection terminal correspond to the device side terminal 11,
The connector housing corresponds to the male housing 14,
The housing corresponds to the device housing 60,
The mounting hole corresponds to the through hole 71,
The insertion attachment portion corresponds to the insertion tube portion 143,
The connection terminal of the mating connector corresponds to the harness side terminal 21,
The terminal connection corresponds to the terminal connection 111,
The circuit connection corresponds to the circuit connection 113,
The connecting portion corresponds to the connecting portion 112,
The insertion direction corresponds to the depth direction D,
The direction in which the circuit connection portions are spaced apart corresponds to the outside in the width direction W,
The cross direction corresponds to the width direction W,
The protruding connector corresponds to the protruding connector 114;
At least one protruding connector corresponds to the one-side protruding connector 114a;
The protruding joint portion of the other connection terminal corresponds to the other protruding joint portion 114b.
The orthogonal plane corresponds to the plane of the width direction W and the height direction H,
The distance between the circuit connection parts in the insertion direction corresponds to the distance L,
The mounting base corresponds to the mounting base 70,
The thickness of the housing and the thickness of the mounting base correspond to thickness La,
The connector connection structure corresponds to the connector connection structure 1,
The first connection terminal corresponds to the harness side terminal 21,
The electric wire corresponds to the high-voltage electric wire 201,
Although the housing corresponds to a male housing 14, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be applied based on the technical ideas shown in the claims, and many embodiments can be obtained.

For example, the above-described device-side connector 10 has two device-side terminals 11, but may have three or more device-side terminals 11. When three or more device-side terminals 11 are provided, all of the circuit connection parts 113 may be provided at different positions in the depth direction D, or at least one circuit connection part 113 may be provided at a different position in the depth direction D relative to the other circuit connection parts 113.

In addition, in the device side terminal 11, the circuit connection part 113 is formed by bending the connecting part 112 at a right angle in the plate thickness direction, but the circuit connection part 113 may be formed by bending the connecting part 112 at an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

Furthermore, the circuit connection portions 113a, 113b of the multiple device-side terminals 11 are both formed to extend along a plane in the width direction W and height direction H, and are formed to face parallel to each other although their positions in the depth direction D are different. However, the multiple circuit connection portions 113 may be formed to face in the same direction but at different angles, or may be formed to face in different directions.
In the above description, the device-side terminal 11 is configured from a metal plate material, but it may be tubular, columnar, or rod-shaped as long as it is made of metal.

Reference Signs List 1...Connector connection structure 10...Device side connector 11...Device side terminal 14...Male housing 20...Harness side connector 21...Harness side terminal 60...Device housing 70...Mounting base 71...Through hole 111...Terminal connection portion 112...Connecting portion 113...Circuit connection portion 114...Protruding connecting portion 114a...One side protruding connecting portion 114b...Other side protruding connecting portion 143...Insertion tube portion 201...High voltage cable D...Depth direction H...Height direction W...Width direction L...Spacing La...Thickness

Claims (8)

A connector that mates with a mating connector to connect terminals provided on each connector,
At least two connection terminals;
a connector housing in which at least a portion of the connection terminal is disposed and which is fixed to a case;
The connector housing is provided with an insertion attachment portion that is inserted into an attachment hole provided in the case and attached to the connector housing,
The connection terminal is
a terminal connection portion for connecting to a connection terminal of the mating connector;
a circuit connection portion disposed inside the housing and connected to an electric circuit provided inside the housing;
a connecting portion that connects the terminal connecting portion and the circuit connecting portion,
The connecting portion extends along an insertion direction in which the insertion attachment portion is inserted into the attachment hole,
The circuit connection portion is
The circuit connection portions are arranged along a direction in which the circuit connection portions are spaced apart from each other and along a cross direction that crosses the coupling portion,
When viewed from the insertion direction, the tip is formed with a length that protrudes outward beyond the outer shape of the insertion attachment portion,
A connector in which at least one of the circuit connection portions of the plurality of connection terminals is disposed at a different position in the insertion direction. A portion of the coupling portion protruding from the insertion attachment portion inside the housing is a protruding coupling portion,
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a protruding length of the protruding coupling portion of at least one of the circuit connecting portions of the plurality of connecting terminals is set longer than the protruding lengths of the protruding coupling portions of the other connecting terminals. The circuit connection portions of the plurality of connection terminals include
The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the connectors are provided at different positions in the insertion direction and extend along an orthogonal plane perpendicular to the insertion direction. The connection terminal is made of a metal plate material,
The connector according to claim 3 , wherein the circuit connection portion is bent in a thickness direction relative to the coupling portion. The distance in the insertion direction between the circuit connection parts arranged at different positions in the insertion direction is
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the mounting hole is set to be wider than a thickness of the housing in which the mounting hole is provided. the mounting hole is provided in a metal mounting base that is attached to the housing,
The intervals between the circuit connection portions of the plurality of connection terminals in the insertion direction are
The connector according to claim 5 , wherein the thickness of the mounting base is set to be larger than the thickness of the mounting base. A connector connection structure in which a first connector and a second connector are fitted together to connect two or more terminals provided on each of the first connector and the second connector,
The first connector includes two or more electric wires each having a first connection terminal attached to a tip thereof, and a housing that is a metal shell made of metal and in which the first connection terminal is disposed,
The second connector includes at least two second connection terminals;
a connector housing in which at least a portion of the second connection terminal is disposed and which is fixed to a case;
The connector housing is provided with an insertion attachment portion that is inserted into an attachment hole provided in the case and attached to the connector housing,
The second connection terminal is
a terminal connection portion that is connected to a first connection terminal of the first connector;
a circuit connection portion disposed inside the housing and connected to an electric circuit provided inside the housing;
a connecting portion that connects the terminal connecting portion and the circuit connecting portion,
The connecting portion extends along an insertion direction in which the insertion attachment portion is inserted into the attachment hole,
the circuit connection portion is disposed along a direction in which the circuit connection portions are spaced apart from each other and along a cross direction that crosses the coupling portion, and is formed with a length such that a tip end of the circuit connection portion protrudes outward beyond an outer shape of the insertion attachment portion when viewed from the insertion direction,
A connector connection structure in which at least one of the circuit connection portions of the second connection terminals is disposed at a different position in the insertion direction. a metal mounting base having the mounting hole is provided at a predetermined location on the housing;
The intervals in the insertion direction between the circuit connection portions of the plurality of connection terminals arranged at different positions in the insertion direction are
The connector connection structure according to claim 7, wherein the thickness of the mounting base is set to be larger than the thickness of the mounting base.

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