JP6052155B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Conventionally, as a connector for connecting an inverter and a motor, there is known a connector in which a terminal is accommodated inside a member that is floating-supported (see Patent Document 1). The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a connector housing and a support member that houses an electrical contact portion that is a terminal. The support member is engaged with a pair of engagement arms provided in the connector housing so as to be floatingly supported in the connector housing.

  In the connector in which the terminal is accommodated in the floating supported member in this way, the relative position between the terminals is displaced when the terminal in the floating supported member and the mating terminal are fitted. In this case, the displacement of the member supported by the floating is absorbed by sliding.

JP 2010-225488 A

  By the way, in a connector as described in the above-mentioned patent document 1, each member for accommodating a terminal is usually made of synthetic resin and formed by injection molding using a mold. In the connector described in Patent Document 1, since the support member is attached in the connector housing, the connector housing is made larger than the support member, and the thermal contraction rate of the connector housing during cooling in the injection molding is the heat of the support member. It is larger than the shrinkage rate.

  Further, in the connector described in Patent Document 1, since the connector housing is made larger than the support member, a mold used for injection molding the connector housing is used for injection molding the support member. It is larger than the mold, and the amount of resin required for injection molding of the connector housing is also large.

  Thus, the dimensional tolerance of the flexible piece such as the engagement arm provided in the connector housing when the connector housing is injection-molded by increasing the heat shrinkage rate and the required amount of resin when the connector housing is injection-molded. May become large. If the dimensional tolerance of the flexible piece such as the engagement arm is increased, if the relative position between the two terminals is displaced when fitting between the terminals, the amount that can be absorbed is reduced, and the connector housing is supported. There is a possibility that the mounting accuracy of the member is lowered.

  The present invention has been created in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to improve the mounting accuracy of a housing that is floatingly supported.

The connector of the present invention includes a main body side member having a locking surface and a supporting surface, a mating member, a housing that is floatingly supported on the supporting surface while being locked to the locking surface, A body-side terminal held by the mating member, and a mating-side terminal that is fixed to the mating member and is fitted to the male and female, and is engaged with the locking surface on the outer peripheral surface of the housing. A plurality of flexible pieces, each of which is an elastic arm extending from the outer peripheral surface of the housing, and each of the elastic arms extends along the outer peripheral surface of the housing. A first arm part; and a second arm part that protrudes outward from the first arm part and is provided with an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the first arm part. The inclined surface side is Together are lifting, the upper end surface provided on the distal end side of the inclined surface in the second arm portion, characterized in that it can be retained with the locking surface.

  According to the connector described above, the plurality of flexible pieces provided in the housing are locked to the locking surface of the main body side member, and the housing is floatingly supported on the supporting surface of the main body side member, so that the housing becomes the main body side member. Easy to install. Here, since the main body side member is a member larger than the housing supported by the main body side member, the thermal contraction rate and the required amount of resin at the time of injection molding are larger than the housing. For this reason, when a plurality of flexible pieces are provided on the main body side member side, the dimensional tolerance of the flexible pieces becomes larger than when a plurality of flexible pieces are provided on the housing side, and the mounting accuracy of the housing is lowered. On the other hand, in the above connector, since the plurality of flexible pieces are provided only on the housing side, the housing mounting accuracy can be improved as compared with the case where the plurality of flexible pieces are provided on the main body side member side. Thus, in the connector described above, it is possible to improve the mounting accuracy of the housing that is floatingly supported by the main body side member.

Further , when the housing is attached to the main body side member, the first arm portion is bent inward (outer peripheral surface side of the housing) while the housing is guided in the attachment direction by the inclined surface of the second arm portion, and the housing is attached to the main body side member. be able to. For this reason, the specific structure for making it easy to attach a housing to a main body side member is realizable.

  It is said connector which connects between an inverter and a motor, Comprising: While the said main body side member is an inverter side terminal block provided in the said inverter side, the said main body side terminal was electrically connected with the said inverter The counterpart member may be a motor side terminal block provided on the motor side, and the counterpart terminal may be a motor side terminal electrically connected to the motor.

  According to this, the mounting accuracy of the housing that is floating supported by the inverter side terminal block while realizing a configuration in which the inverter and the motor side terminal are directly connected by fitting the inverter side terminal and the motor side terminal. Can be improved.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the mounting accuracy of a housing that is floatingly supported.

Top view of the fitting part between the inverter side terminal block and the motor side terminal block as seen from above Front view of the fitting part between the inverter side terminal block and the motor side terminal block as seen from the front FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. Sectional drawing showing the state before fitting an inverter side terminal block and a motor side terminal block Cross section of inner housing Sectional drawing showing the state before attaching the inner housing to the inverter side terminal block Sectional drawing showing the state in the middle of attaching an inner housing to an inverter side terminal block

  Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, for example, a connector 1 that electrically connects an inverter (not shown) and a motor (not shown) in a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle is illustrated. A part of each drawing shows an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis that are orthogonal to each other, and each axis direction is drawn in the direction shown in each drawing. Among these, the Z-axis direction coincides with the vertical direction with the upper side of the drawing in FIGS.

  In the present embodiment, the inverter is housed in the inverter case 10 and the motor is housed in the motor case 20 with the upper side being the inverter side and the lower side being the motor side. In each drawing, only the lower part covering the lower side of the inverter is illustrated for the inverter case 10, and only the upper part covering the upper side of the motor is illustrated for the motor case 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment is arranged in parallel between the inverter side and the motor side along the Y-axis direction, and connects the two. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, each connector 1 includes an inverter-side terminal 52 (to be described later) electrically connected to the inverter and a motor-side terminal 62 (to be described later) electrically connected to the motor. The relay terminal is used to electrically connect the inverter and the motor.

  First, the configuration of the inverter case 10 and the motor case 20 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an inverter-side rib 12 that protrudes downward in a rib shape and an inverter-side opening surrounded by the inverter-side rib 12 are formed in a part of the lower portion of the inverter case 10. 14 is provided. On the other hand, a motor-side rib 22 that protrudes upward in a rib shape and a motor-side opening 24 surrounded by the motor-side rib 22 are provided in a part of the upper portion of the motor case 20.

  Next, the configuration of the connector 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connector 1 includes an inverter-side terminal block (an example of a body-side member) 30, a motor-side terminal block (an example of a mating member) 40, and an inner housing (an example of a housing) 50. An inverter side terminal 52 held in the inner housing 50, a motor side housing 60 provided in the motor side terminal block 40, a motor side terminal 62 held in the motor side housing 60, and a braided wire 70 . Among these, the inverter side terminal block 30 is provided on the inverter side (upper side), and the motor side terminal block 40 is provided on the motor side (lower side).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inverter-side terminal block 30 is a member that is smaller in size in plan view than the lower portion of the inverter case 10. As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the inverter side terminal block 30 is provided with a housing mounting portion 32. The housing mounting portion 32 overlaps the motor-side housing 60 in the vertical direction with the inverter-side terminal block 30 on the upper side.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the housing attachment portion 32 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and two overhang portions that protrude inward from the inner wall of the housing attachment portion 32 with substantially the same length are provided therein. It has been. One projecting portion projects from the upper opening edge of the housing attachment portion 32 in parallel to the XY plane direction, and its lower surface serves as a locking surface 32A. The other projecting portion projects from the substantially central position in the vertical direction of the inner wall of the housing mounting portion 32 in parallel to the XY plane direction, and the upper surface thereof serves as a support surface 32B.

  The inner housing 50 has a substantially cylindrical shape with the vertical direction as the cylinder axis direction, and is attached to the housing attachment portion 32 by the locking surface 32A and the support surface 32B. An inverter side terminal 52 that is a female terminal is accommodated on the lower opening side in the inner housing 50. The inverter side terminal 52 is held in the inner housing 50 by a lance 54 extending from the inner wall of the inner housing 50 with the connection port facing downward.

  The inverter side terminal block 30 and the inner housing 50 described above are members made of synthetic resin and formed by injection molding using a mold. The detailed configuration of the inner housing 50 and the manner of mounting the inner housing 50 to the housing mounting portion 32 will be described in detail later.

  A part of the inverter side terminal 52 opposite to the connection port extends along the inner wall of the inner housing 50 to the vicinity of the upper opening of the inner housing 50, and is electrically connected to one end of the braided wire 70. Yes. The braided wire 70 is a conductive member having flexibility and is routed in the inverter side terminal block 30. The end of the braided wire 70 opposite to the end connected to the inverter side terminal 52 is electrically connected to the inverter. For this reason, the inverter side terminal 52 is supplied with AC power converted by the inverter.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower surface of the inverter side terminal block 30 is directed to the lower inner wall of the inverter case 10, and the lower portion of the inner housing 50 is connected to the inverter side opening 14 of the inverter case 10. It is assembled and fixed to the inverter case 10 in the inserted state. Note that, in the inverter-side terminal block 30, the lower opening edge of the housing mounting portion 32 coincides with the lower surface of the inverter-side terminal block 30 in the vertical direction. For this reason, when the inverter side terminal block 30 is assembled to the inverter case 10, the housing mounting portion 32 does not interfere with the inverter case 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor side terminal block 40 is arranged in a form to be placed on the upper portion of the motor case 20. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the motor-side terminal block 40 is provided with a substantially plate-shaped main body portion 42 and a protruding portion 44 that protrudes in a vertical direction from a part of the main body portion 42. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the motor-side housing 60 is provided on the upper portion of the protrusion 44 in the motor-side terminal block 40 and opens upward. The motor side terminal 62 is a male terminal, and is fixed in the motor side housing 60 with the upper side as the connection side. The motor side terminal 62 extends to the lower part of the protruding portion 44 and is electrically connected to the motor, and supplies the AC power converted by the inverter to the motor side.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the motor-side terminal block 40 has its main body portion 42 mounted on the motor-side rib 22 of the motor case 20 via the first seal member S <b> 1 and its protruding portion. When the lower portion of 44 is inserted into the motor side opening 24 of the motor case 20 and fastened to the motor case 20 with the bolt B, the motor case 20 is assembled and fixed.

  As described above, when the motor side terminal block 40 is assembled to the motor case 20, the first seal member S <b> 1 is disposed between the main body portion 42 of the motor side terminal block 40 and the motor side rib 22. Thus, the gap between the two is sealed. Thereby, it can prevent thru | or suppress that water etc. penetrate | invade between the main-body part 42 and the motor side rib 22 (inside the motor case 20).

  Between the inverter case 10 and the motor case 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner housing 50 is fitted into the motor side housing 60 from below, and the inverter side terminal 52 and the motor side terminal 62 are vertically moved. Assembling is performed by male-female fitting in the direction (Z-axis direction), in other words, the direction perpendicular to the support surface 32B of the housing mounting portion 32. By fitting the inverter-side terminal 52 and the motor-side terminal 62 together, the terminals 52 and 62 are electrically connected. As a result, the inverter and the motor are directly connected, and AC power converted by the inverter is supplied to the motor.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when connecting the inverter side terminal 52 and the motor side terminal 62, the second seal member S <b> 2 is disposed between the inverter side rib 12 and the main body 42 of the motor side terminal block 40. By doing so, the gap between the two is sealed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent or suppress water or the like from entering between the inverter case 10 and the main body portion 42 (connection portion between the inverter-side terminal 52 and the motor-side terminal 62).

  Next, a detailed configuration of the inner housing 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, elastic arms (an example of a flexible piece) 56 extending from the outer peripheral surface are provided on both sides in the X-axis direction on the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 50. Each elastic arm 56 has flexibility, and extends from a substantially central position in the vertical direction of the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 50 to a position that coincides with the upper opening edge of the inner housing 50 in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each elastic arm 56 includes a first arm portion 56 </ b> A extending in the vertical direction along the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 50 with a slight gap between the inner arm 50 and the first arm. And a second arm portion 56B that slightly protrudes from the portion in the vicinity of the tip of the portion 56A to the outside (the side opposite to the outer peripheral surface side of the inner housing 50).

  As shown in FIG. 5, inclined surfaces 56 </ b> B <b> 1 that are inclined outward from the lower side to the upper side with respect to the first arm portion 56 </ b> A are provided at the lower portions of the second arm portions 56 </ b> B of the respective elastic arms 56. Further, a curvature is provided at the boundary between the inclined surface 56B1 and the other surface. The upper end surface 56B2 of the second arm portion 56B of each elastic arm 56 is parallel to the XY plane, that is, parallel to both the locking surface 32A and the support surface 32B of the housing attachment portion 32.

  In addition, the width dimension (X-axis direction dimension) of the inner housing 50 including only the first arm portion 56A of each elastic arm 56 is slightly smaller than the upper opening of the housing mounting portion 32. The width dimension (X-axis direction dimension) of the inner housing 50 including the second arm part 56B in the arm 56 is slightly larger than the upper opening of the housing mounting part 32 (see FIG. 5).

  The connector 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. Subsequently, a manner of attaching the inner housing 50 to the housing attaching portion 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 6, the inner housing 50 is attached to the housing attachment portion 32 from above in a state where the inverter side terminal 52 and the like are not held therein. When the inner housing 50 is attached to the housing attachment portion 32, first, the inner housing 50 is positioned above the housing attachment portion 32 so as to coincide with the opening of the housing attachment portion 32 in the XY plane direction.

  Next, the inner housing 50 is inserted into the housing attachment portion 32 from above. The inner housing 50 is inserted into the housing mounting portion 32 without interfering with the housing mounting portion 32 until reaching the boundary between the first arm portion 56A and the second arm portion 56B in the vertical direction.

  When the inner housing 50 is further inserted into the housing mounting portion 32, the inclined surface 56B1 provided at the lower portion of the second arm portion 56B interferes with the inner front end portion 32A1 (see FIG. 6) of the locking surface 32A, and FIG. As shown, each first arm portion 56A is bent inward (outer peripheral surface side of the inner housing 50).

  When the inner housing 50 is further inserted into the housing mounting portion 32 from the state where each first arm portion 56A is bent inward, the inner housing 50 advances downward while being guided by the inclined surface 56B1. Here, in each elastic arm 56, since the curvature is provided between the inclined surface 56B1 and the other surface, the inner front end portion 32A1 of the locking surface 32A of the housing attachment portion 32 is the second arm portion 56B. Even before and after interfering with the inclined surface 56B1, the inner housing 50 is smoothly guided.

  When the inner housing 50 further moves downward, when the upper end surface 56B2 of the second arm portion 56B of each elastic arm 56 reaches below the locking surface 32 in the vertical direction, the second arm portion 56B becomes the housing mounting portion. The elastic arms 56 are restored to the natural state again by the elastic restoring force (see FIG. 5).

  When each elastic arm 56 returns to the natural state again, as shown in FIG. 5, the second arm portion 56B of each elastic arm 56 enters between the locking surface 32A and the support surface 32B of the housing mounting portion 32. It is assumed that it is in a state. In this state, the upper end surface 56B2 of the second arm portion 56B of each elastic arm 56 is locked by the locking surface 32A, and the inner housing 50 is prevented from coming off the housing mounting portion 32 upward.

  Further, in this state, the second arm portion 56B of each elastic arm 56 is supported by the support surface 32B, so that the inner housing 50 is floatingly supported by the support surface 32B, and the inner housing 50 is dropped from the housing mounting portion 32 downward. Is prevented.

  When the inner housing 50 is floatingly supported on the support surface 32B in this manner, when the inverter-side terminal 52 and the motor-side terminal 62 are fitted together, the relative position between the terminals 52 and 62 is displaced. The inner housing 50 slides along the support surface 32B, and can absorb the displacement in the direction along the support surface 32B (the direction along the XY plane).

  The inner housing 50 is attached to the housing attachment portion 32 by the above attachment manner. After the inner housing 50 is attached to the housing attachment portion 32, the inverter side terminal 62 connected to one end portion of the braided wire 70 is attached to the inner housing 50.

  As described above, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, when the inner housing 50 is attached to the housing attachment portion 32 of the inverter-side terminal block 30, the inner housing 50 is moved downward (attachment direction) by the inclined surface 56B1 of the second arm portion 56B. ), The inner housing 50 can be attached to the housing attachment portion 32.

  Then, by attaching the inner housing 50 to the housing attachment portion 32, the second arm portion 56 </ b> B of each elastic arm 56 of the inner housing 50 is engaged with the engagement surface 32 </ b> A of the housing attachment portion 32 of the inverter side terminal block 30. be able to. Furthermore, the inner housing 50 can be floatingly supported on the support surface 32B by supporting the second arm portion 56B on the support surface 32B of the housing attachment portion 32. Thus, the inner housing 50 can be easily attached to the housing attachment portion 32 of the inverter side terminal block 30.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the inverter-side terminal block 30 is a member larger than the inner housing 50 supported by the inverter-side terminal block 30, so that the thermal contraction rate and necessary during injection molding are required. The amount of the resin becomes larger than that of the inner housing 50. For this reason, when the two elastic arms 56 are provided on the inverter side terminal block 30 side, the dimensional tolerance of the elastic arms 56 is larger than when the two elastic arms 56 are provided on the inner housing 50 side, and the inner housing 50 is attached. Accuracy is reduced.

  On the other hand, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, since the two elastic arms 56 are provided only on the inner housing 50 side, the dimensions of the elastic arms 56 are compared with the case where the two elastic arms 56 are provided on the inverter side terminal block 30 side. Even when the relative position between the terminals 52 and 62 is displaced when fitting between the inverter side terminal 52 and the motor side terminal 62, the tolerance is effectively absorbed. Can be made. As a result, the mounting accuracy of the inner housing 50 can be improved.

  Thus, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the inverter side terminal block 30 and the motor side terminal block 40 are fitted to each other so that the inverter and the motor are directly connected. The mounting accuracy of the inner housing 50 that is floatingly supported by the support surface 32B of the housing mounting portion 32 can be improved.

  Further, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, as described above, the two elastic arms 56 are provided only on the inner housing 50 side, so the elastic arms 56 are provided on both the inner housing 50 side and the inverter side terminal block 30 side. Compared with the case where it provides, the metal mold | die used at the time of injection molding can be simplified, and cost reduction can be achieved.

  Moreover, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, when attaching the inner housing 50 to the housing attachment part 32, since other members, such as a retainer member, are not required, the inner housing 50 is compared with the structure which requires another member. The mounting work can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the inverter side terminal 52 and the motor side terminal 62 are fitted by the male and female being fitted in the direction orthogonal to the support surface 32B. When the relative position between the terminals 52 and 62 is displaced at the time of mating, the displacement in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) can also be absorbed by changing the degree of male-female fitting. it can.

The modifications of the above embodiment are listed below.
(1) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the inner housing is provided with the two elastic arms is illustrated, but the inner housing may be provided with three or more elastic arms.

(3) In the above embodiment, the inverter side terminal is a female terminal and the motor side terminal is a male terminal. However, the inverter side terminal is a male terminal and the motor side terminal is a female terminal. The structure used as the type | mold terminal may be sufficient.

(4) In the above embodiment, the connector for connecting the inverter and the motor is exemplified, but the connector may be used for other purposes.

  As mentioned above, although each embodiment of this invention was described in detail, these are only illustrations and do not limit a claim. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector 10 ... Inverter case 20 ... Motor case 30 ... Inverter side terminal block 32 ... Housing attachment part 32A ... Locking surface 32B ... Support surface 40 ... Motor side terminal block 50 ... Inner housing 52 ... Inverter side terminal 56 ... Elastic arm 56A ... 1st arm part 56B ... 2nd arm part 56B1 ... Inclined surface 60 ... Motor side housing 62 ... Motor side terminal 70 ... Braided wire

Claims (2)

A main body side member having a locking surface and a support surface;
A mating member;
A housing that is floatingly supported on the support surface in a state of being locked to the locking surface;
A body-side terminal held in the housing;
A mating terminal fixed to the mating member and mated with the main body side terminal;
A plurality of flexible pieces locked to the locking surface are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the housing ,
Each of the plurality of flexible pieces is an elastic arm extending from the outer peripheral surface of the housing,
Each of the elastic arms is provided with a first arm portion extending along an outer peripheral surface of the housing, and an inclined surface that protrudes outward from the first arm portion and is inclined with respect to the first arm portion. Two arm parts,
The inclined surface side of the second arm portion is supported by the support surface, and an upper end surface provided on the distal end side of the inclined surface of the second arm portion can be locked to the locking surface. connector, characterized in that is. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is connected between the inverter and the motor.
The main body side member is an inverter side terminal block provided on the inverter side, and the main body side terminal is an inverter side terminal electrically connected to the inverter,
The mating member is a motor side terminal block provided on the motor side, and the mating terminal is a motor side terminal electrically connected to the motor.

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