JP7565245B2 - Cable Connector - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a cable connector.

Conventionally, cable connectors are known that have a housing that houses a terminal portion that is connected to the end of an electric cable. In such conventional cable connectors, a cover member of fixed dimensions that includes an arc-shaped portion that follows the outer shape of the electric cable is attached to the housing so as to cover the portion of the electric cable that is exposed from the housing, thereby realizing the retention of the electric cable relative to the housing and the connection of the electric cable to the ground via the housing.

JP 2018-206517 A

However, in the conventional technology described above, the cover member for holding the electric cable and connecting it to the ground has fixed dimensions, and therefore cannot be used for other electric cables with different diameters. In other words, when constructing a cable connector using another electric cable with a different diameter, it is necessary to separately prepare a new cover member whose dimensions match the outer shape of the other electric cable, which is not efficient.

Therefore, one of the problems that this disclosure aims to solve is to provide a cable connector with a new structure that can efficiently hold electrical cables of various diameters and connect them to a ground.

The cable connector according to the present disclosure includes a cable support part that supports the braid of an electric cable having an exposed braid at the end and has at least a conductive inner surface that is electrically connected to ground, and is equipped with a housing that houses a terminal part that is connected to the internal wiring protruding from the end, and an elastic conductive member that holds the braid against the housing by elastically deforming in response to contact with the braid and electrically connects the braid to the inner surface of the cable support part by contacting the inner surface of the cable support part.

The cable connector disclosed herein can efficiently hold electrical cables of various diameters and connect them to ground.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the connector device according to the embodiment is separated. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector according to the embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the plug connector shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the housing extracted from FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the plug connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which an electric cable has linearly passed through a housing in a manufacturing process of the plug connector according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining attachment of the elastic conductive member in the manufacturing process of the plug connector according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an elastic conductive member according to a modified example.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The configurations of the embodiments described below and the actions and effects brought about by the configurations are merely examples and are not limited to the contents described below.

In addition, in this disclosure, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used for convenience to distinguish between parts or portions, and do not indicate a particular priority order.

In addition, in each of the figures of this disclosure, the X direction corresponds to the front-rear direction of the plug connector 100 (the direction in which the electric cable 300 extends inside the cover 130 of the plug connector 100). Furthermore, the Y direction and the Z direction correspond to the left-right direction (width direction) and the up-down direction (thickness direction) of the plug connector 100, respectively.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a connector device according to an embodiment, and Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the connector device according to the embodiment in a separated state. The connector device according to the embodiment is used to realize input and output of electrical signals between electrical equipment such as a motor.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the connector device according to the embodiment includes a plug connector 100 as an example of a "cable connector" of the present disclosure, and a receptacle connector 200. The plug connector 100 is used in a state where it is connected to an electric cable 300, and the receptacle connector 200 is used in a state where it is installed on the surface of the housing of an electric device. In the embodiment, two electric cables 300 are provided, and the two electric cables 300 are classified, for example, into a first electric cable for transmitting data such as a control signal and a second electric cable for transmitting a power signal.

The plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 are fitted together to input an electrical signal to an electrical device via the electrical cable 300, or output an electrical signal from an electrical device via the electrical cable 300. Figure 1 shows the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 fitted together, and Figure 2 shows the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 separated from each other by disengaging them.

Here, the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 can be switched between a state in which they are mated with each other (see FIG. 1) and a state in which they are disengaged from each other (see FIG. 2) by an operating lever 120 attached to the plug connector 100.

The operating lever 120 has a generally U-shaped band shape that extends from one side of the plug connector 100 (more specifically, the housing 110 described below) to the other side, and is configured to be rotatable at a predetermined angle (e.g., 90 degrees) around a pivot shaft 121 provided on the side of the housing 110. When the operating lever 120 rotates to a position in front of the housing 110 (see FIG. 1), the engagement between the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 is maintained, and when the operating lever 120 rotates to a position on the top surface of the housing 110 (see FIG. 2), the engagement between the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 is released.

As shown in FIG. 2, the receptacle connector 200 includes a connection portion 210 having terminal holes 211 and 212 into which a terminal portion 410 (described later, see FIG. 3, etc.) of the plug connector 100 is inserted, and a claw portion 220 that hooks onto the housing 110 when the plug connector 100 and the receptacle connector 200 are mated to each other, thereby fixing the housing 110. The terminal holes 211 and 212 are formed by mounting a terminal portion (not shown) of the receptacle connector 200 to the connection portion 210.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the plug connector 100 includes, in addition to the operating lever 120, a cover 130, a seal member 140, and a cap member 150. These components of the plug connector 100 will be described in more detail below with reference to Figures 3 to 6.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of the plug connector 100 shown in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the housing 110 extracted from Figure 4. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of the plug connector 100 shown in Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plug connector 100 is configured as a combination of a housing 110 to which an operating lever 120 is attached, a cover 130 which is joined to the housing 110 by a screw 500 with a seal member 140 sandwiched therebetween, a cap member 150 which is joined to the rear side of the cover 130 via a gasket 151 and a clamp 152, and a terminal section 410 which is comprised of a terminal 411 and a case 412 housed within the housing 110. Note that the electric cable 300 is omitted from FIG. 3 for simplification.

As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 110 is configured to accommodate the entire terminal portion 410 connected to the internal wiring 310 protruding from the end of the electric cable 300, at which the braid 320 is exposed. In the embodiment, the housing 110 and the cover 130 are joined together to form an internal space that is approximately L-shaped in side view inside the joined housing 110 and cover 130.

5, the housing 110 is configured as a cylinder having a generally L-shaped outer shape in a side view, with a first opening 113 at one end through which the electric cable 300 is inserted, and a second opening 114 at the other end for exposing the terminal portion 410 connected to the end of the electric cable 300 inserted through the first opening 113. In the embodiment, the first opening 113 is provided in a planar shape so as to form a plane along the first opening 113, and the second opening 114 is also provided in a planar shape so as to form a plane along the second opening 114.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment, in a cross section of the housing 110 in a side view along the electric cable 300 passing through the first opening 113 (see also FIG. 4), a first line P1 along the first opening 113 is inclined with respect to a second line P2 along the second opening 114 and a third line P3 that passes through the intersection of the first line P1 and the second line P2 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the second line P2. This allows the electric cable 300 to pass through both the first opening 113 and the second opening 114 in a nearly straight line through the housing 110.

More specifically, the first line P1 is linearly inclined so that the further away from the second line P2 it is along the Z direction as a first direction perpendicular to the second line P2, the further away from the third line P3 it is along the X direction as a second direction parallel to the second line P2 (i.e., closer to the end of the electric cable 300 housed in the housing 110). In addition, the first opening 113 and the second opening 114 are arranged so as not to overlap each other when viewed from the Z direction as the first direction.

In addition, in an embodiment, the housing 110 is made of a conductive material such as metal or metal-plated resin, and is electrically connected to a ground (or earth) as a reference potential point.

As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 110 includes a cable support 111, at least the inner surface of which is conductive and which supports the exposed braid 320 of the electric cable 300 and is electrically connected to ground. The cable support 111 includes a portion 111A having a substantially arc-shaped cross section that supports part of the outer periphery of the exposed braid 320 of the electric cable 300 from below on its inner surface, and the braid 320 supported on the inner surface of the cable support 111 is fixed to the housing 110 by an elastic conductive member 160.

The elastic conductive member 160 is composed of a plate-shaped member (e.g., a plate-shaped metal member) that is elastic and conductive. The elastic conductive member 160 is configured to hold the braid 320 against the housing 110 by elastically deforming in response to contact with the braid 320, and to electrically connect the braid 320 to the cable support part 111 (and thus to ground) by contacting the inner surface of the cable support part 111.

In the embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 is configured by bending a plate-shaped metal member into a line-symmetric M-shape in which two inverted U-shaped portions of approximately the same size that open toward the cable support portion 111 are connected in the Y direction (see also FIG. 3). More specifically, the elastic conductive member 160 has a plate portion 161, a plate portion 162 facing the plate portion 161, a plate portion 163 facing the plate portion 162, a plate portion 164 facing the plate portion 163, a bent portion 165 connecting the plate portion 161 and the plate portion 162, a bent portion 166 connecting the plate portion 162 and the plate portion 163, a bent portion 167 connecting the plate portion 163 and the plate portion 164, a claw portion 168 provided at the end of the plate portion 161 opposite the bent portion 165, and a claw portion 169 provided at the end of the plate portion 164 opposite the bent portion 167. In the embodiment, as an example, the inverted U-shaped portion formed by plate portion 161, plate portion 162, and bent portion 165 constitutes a cable housing portion that houses the braid 320 of the electric cable 300.

In this embodiment, the distance between plate portion 161 and plate portion 162 is smaller than the diameter of braid 320. As a result, braid 320 is held by being elastically sandwiched between plate portion 161 and plate portion 162.

In the embodiment, the cable support portion 111 includes a wall portion 112 that separates the braids 320 of the two electric cables 300 and is electrically connected to ground. As a result, the plate portion 164 of the elastic conductive member 160 is biased against the wall portion 112 of the housing 110 in response to elastic deformation caused by the braids 320 being sandwiched between the plate portions 161 and 162.

In addition, in the embodiment, when the braid 320 is sandwiched between the plate portions 161 and 162 as described above, the claw portion 169 provided at the end of the plate portion 164 opposite the bent portion 167 is engaged with the wall portion 112 of the housing 110. This fixes the elastic conductive member 160 to the housing 110, and as a result, the retention of the electric cable 300 and the connection to ground are maintained.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, a cover 130 is attached to the rear side of the housing 110. The cover 130 is connected to the housing 110 by a screw 500, sandwiching a seal member 140, so as to cover the first opening 113 (see Fig. 5) of the housing 110. The screw 500 passes through through holes 131 and 141 (see Fig. 3) provided in the cover 130 and the seal member 140, respectively, and screws into the inner circumferential surface of a screw hole (see Fig. 6) provided in the housing 110.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the embodiment, the seal member 140 sandwiched between the housing 110 and the cover 130 is configured in a substantially rectangular frame shape along the edge of the first opening 113 (see FIG. 5). The seal member 140 is made of, for example, rubber. The seal member 140 also has a first rib 142 as a substantially rectangular frame-shaped wall rising from the surface of the seal member 140 so as to face the edge of the first opening, and a second rib 143 as a cylindrical wall provided around the through hole 141. The first rib 142 can be provided not only on the surface of the seal member 140 facing the housing 110, but also on the back surface facing the cover 130.

In this embodiment, the cover 130 has a cylindrical portion 132 on its rear side through which the electric cable 300 extending from inside the housing 110 passes. A cylindrical cap member 150 is connected to the cylindrical portion 132 via an annular gasket 151 and a clamp 152. As a result, the electric cable 300 that passes through the cylindrical portion 132 and is exposed outside the cover 130 is fixed by the gasket 151, the clamp 152, and the cap member 150.

The manufacturing process for the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment will be described below with reference mainly to Figures 7 and 8.

Figure 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state in which the electric cable 300 has linearly penetrated the housing 110 during the manufacturing process of the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment, and Figure 8 is a perspective view for explaining the attachment of the elastic conductive member 160 during the manufacturing process of the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment.

In the embodiment, when manufacturing the plug connector 100, the electric cable 300 is first passed through the cap member 150, the gasket 151, the clamp 152, the cover 130, and the seal member 140, and then the electric cable 300 is inserted into the first opening 113 and the second opening 114 of the housing 110. Then, in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminal portion 410 is connected to the internal wiring 310 at the end of the electric cable 300 that penetrates the housing 110 and is exposed from the second opening 114. Note that the seal member 140 is omitted from FIG. 7 for simplification.

As already mentioned above, in the embodiment, the first opening 113 and the second opening 114 are arranged in a positional relationship that allows the electric cable 300 to pass linearly through the housing 110. Therefore, in the embodiment, the process of inserting the electric cable 300 into the housing 110 when attaching the terminal portion 410 to the end of the electric cable 300, and the process of pulling back the electric cable 300 to accommodate the entire terminal portion 410 attached to the end of the electric cable 300 within the housing 110 can be easily performed while preventing the outer surface of the electric cable 300 from rubbing against the inner surfaces of the first opening 113 and the second opening 114.

In the embodiment, when the retraction of the electric cable 300 is completed, the entire terminal portion 410 is accommodated in the housing 110. As a result, in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the braid 320 of the electric cable 300 is exposed outside the housing 110. Then, in the embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 is attached so as to hold the braid 320 against the cable support portion 111 and connect it to ground via the wall portion 112 of the cable support portion 111. Note that the elastic deformation accompanying the attachment of the elastic conductive member 160 has already been described with reference to FIG. 6, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

In this embodiment, once the installation of the elastic conductive member 160 is complete, the seal member 140 and the cover 130, through which the electric cable 300 has already been passed, are joined to the housing 110 by the screw 500, and then the cover 130 and the cap member 150 are joined via the gasket 151 and the clamp 152. In this manner, the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment is manufactured.

As described above, the plug connector 100 according to the embodiment includes a housing 110 and an elastic conductive member 160. The housing 110 includes a cable support portion 111 having at least an inner surface conductive, which supports the braid 320 of the electric cable 300, the braid 320 of which is exposed at the end, and is electrically connected to ground. The housing 110 also accommodates a terminal portion 410 connected to the internal wiring 310 protruding from the end of the electric cable 300. The elastic conductive member 160 elastically deforms in response to contact with the braid 320 to hold the braid 320 against the housing 110, and electrically connects the braid 320 to the inner surface of the cable support portion 111 by contacting the inner surface of the cable support portion 111.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, even if the diameter of the electric cable 300 is made smaller or larger, the elastically deformable elastic conductive member 160 can easily secure the holding of the electric cable 300 and the connection to the ground. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently hold electric cables of various diameters and connect them to the ground.

In the embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 includes a cable housing portion configured by bending an elastic and conductive plate-shaped member into an inverted U-shape. More specifically, the elastic conductive member 160 includes a cable housing portion having a plate portion 161 as a first plate portion, a plate portion 162 as a second plate portion facing the plate portion 161, and a bent portion 165 connecting the plate portion 161 and the plate portion 162, and the braid 320 is held by being elastically sandwiched between the plate portion 161 and the plate portion 162.

With the above configuration, it is possible to easily configure an elastic conductive member 160 that can easily accommodate and hold the electric cable 300, simply by bending an elastic and conductive plate-shaped member into an inverted U-shape.

In addition, in the embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 further includes a plate portion 164 as a biased portion that is biased into and contacts the housing 110 in response to elastic deformation caused by the braid 320 being elastically sandwiched between the plate portions 161 and 162.

With the above configuration, the plate portion 164 can be biased into the housing 110 using the elastic force generated by elastic deformation, making it easy to connect the electric cable 300 to ground.

In addition, in the embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 further includes a claw portion 169 that is engaged within the housing 110.

With the above configuration, the elastic conductive member 160 and the housing 110 are fixed by the claw portion 169, so that the electrical cable 300 can be held and connected to ground.

In addition, in this embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 is formed into an M-shape with a continuous inverted U-shaped cable housing section.

According to the above configuration, the elastic conductive member 160 is formed in an axisymmetric M-shape, so even if the elastic conductive member 160 is inverted about the axis of symmetry, it remains the same as the elastic conductive member 160 before inversion. As a result, the elastic conductive member 160 can be easily handled.

In addition, in the embodiment, the cable support portion 111 has a portion 111A having a generally arc-shaped cross section that supports only a portion of the outer periphery of the braid 320 on its inner surface.

With the above-described configuration, the cable support portion 111 can support the braid 320 while maintaining the braid 320 exposed for attachment of the elastic conductive member 160.

In addition, in the embodiment, two electric cables 300 are provided, and the housing 110 includes a wall portion 112 that separates the braids 320 of each of the two electric cables 300 and is electrically connected to the ground.

With this configuration, the wall portion 112 can be used to easily connect two electrical cables to the ground.

<Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which two electric cables 300 are provided is illustrated. However, the technology of the present disclosure is also applicable to a configuration in which only one electric cable 300 is provided, and a configuration in which three or more electric cables 300 are provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the elastic conductive member 160 has an M-shape that is symmetrical in the Y direction, in which two inverted U-shaped parts of approximately the same size are connected in the Y direction. However, as a modified example, a configuration using an elastic conductive member having a shape asymmetrical in the Y direction, such as a horizontal S-shape or a shape in which one free end is further folded multiple times, is also conceivable. Another example of a shape asymmetrical in the Y direction is an M-shape that is asymmetrical in the Y direction, in which two inverted U-shaped parts of different sizes or shapes are connected in the Y direction. When two electric cables are held by an elastic conductive member asymmetrical in the Y direction such as these modified examples, it is necessary to use the two elastic conductive members with their Y direction reversed.

Now, referring to Figure 9, we will explain in more detail an example of an M-shaped elastic conductive member that is asymmetric in the Y direction as a modified example. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an elastic conductive member 1160 according to the modified example.

In the modified example shown in Figure 9, the elastic conductive member 1160 has an M-shape that is asymmetric in the Y direction, consisting of two inverted U-shaped portions of different shapes connected in the Y direction. More specifically, elastic conductive member 1160 is composed of a bent plate-shaped metal member having plate portion 1161, plate portion 1162 facing plate portion 1161, plate portion 1163 facing plate portion 1162, plate portion 1164 facing plate portion 1163, bent portion 1165 connecting plate portion 1161 and plate portion 1162, bent portion 1166 connecting plate portion 1162 and plate portion 1163, bent portion 1167 connecting plate portion 1163 and plate portion 1164, claw portion 1168 provided at the end of plate portion 1161 opposite bent portion 1165, and claw portion 1169 provided at the end of plate portion 1164 opposite bent portion 1167. In addition, plate portion 1162 has plate portion 1162A that is connected to bent portion 165 so as to be substantially opposite plate portion 1161, and plate portion 1162B that extends linearly from the end of plate portion 1162A opposite bent portion 165 toward bent portion 1166 and away from plate portion 1161.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 9, the inverted U-shaped portion on one side, which is composed of plate portions 1161, 1162, and bent portion 165, constitutes a cable accommodating portion that accommodates electric cable 300 (and presses against cable support portion 111), and the inverted U-shaped portion on the other side, which is composed of plate portions 1163, 1164, and bent portion 1167 (particularly plate portion 1164), constitutes a biased portion that is biased against wall portion 112 (see FIG. 6) of housing 110. Note that the roles of claw portions 1168 and 1169 are similar to those of claw portions 168 and 160 of elastic conductive member 160 in the above-described embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the first opening 113 into which the electric cable 300 is inserted is provided in a planar shape. However, as a modified example, a configuration in which the first opening is provided in a curved shape is also conceivable. As such a modified example, for example, a configuration in which only a portion of the upper surface of the housing is cut out is conceivable. In this configuration, the cover-side end of the upper surface of the housing does not extend linearly in the Y direction, and is partially cut out on the front side of the housing at a portion that interferes with the electric cable when the electric cable is inserted or removed. With this configuration, when viewed in a cross section in a side view along the electric cable passing through the first opening, it is possible for the electric cable to pass through both the first opening and the second opening in a substantially linear manner through the housing, as in the above-described embodiment.

Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments and modifications are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

100 Plug connector (cable connector)
110 Housing 111 Cable support portion 111A Sectionally arc-shaped portion 112 Wall portion 160 Elastic conductive member 161 Plate portion (first plate portion, cable housing portion)
162 Plate portion (second plate portion, cable housing portion)
164 Plate part (forced part)
165 Bend section (cable housing section)
169 Claw part (locking part)
300 Electric cable 310 Internal wiring 410 Terminal portion

Claims (5)

a housing including a cable support portion having at least an inner surface conductive for supporting the braid of an electric cable having an exposed braid at an end portion and electrically connected to a ground, the housing accommodating a terminal portion connected to an internal wiring protruding from the end portion;
an elastic conductive member fixed to the cable support part, the elastic conductive member elastically deforming in response to contact with the braid when fixed to the cable support part, thereby holding the braid against the cable support part, and electrically connecting the braid to the inner surface of the cable support part by contacting the inner surface of the cable support part;
Equipped with
the elastic conductive member includes a cable housing portion configured by bending a plate-shaped member having elasticity and conductivity along an outer periphery of the braid,
The cable support portion is configured to support only a portion of the outer periphery of the braid on its inner surface, and includes a portion whose cross-sectional shape along a direction intersecting the electric cable is configured to be approximately arc-shaped . the cable housing portion has a first plate portion, a second plate portion facing the first plate portion, and a bent portion connecting the first plate portion and the second plate portion,
The braid is held by being elastically sandwiched between the first plate portion and the second plate portion.
2. The cable connector according to claim 1 . The elastic conductive member further includes a biased portion that is biased into and contacts the housing in response to elastic deformation caused by the braid being elastically sandwiched between the first plate portion and the second plate portion.
3. The cable connector according to claim 2 . The elastic conductive member further includes a claw portion that is engaged with the cable support portion.
The cable connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The electrical cable includes two electrical cables,
the cable support includes a wall separating the braids of each of the two electrical cables and electrically connected to the gland;
The cable connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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