Connector

Abstract

Even if the housing is deformed, it enables multiple terminal parts to be assembled in a consistent direction parallel to each other. The connector includes a synthetic resin housing (10), a plurality of slit-shaped through holes (13) formed in the housing (10), and a plurality of terminal parts (30) penetratingly assembled in the through holes (13) of the housing (10). The plurality of through holes (13) are arranged side by side such that the long sides (13L) of the through holes (13) are parallel to each other. Protrusion-shaped support portions (20) are formed on the inner surface of the through holes (13). The support portions (20) abut against the outer surface of the terminal parts (30) in a manner of sandwiching the terminal parts (30). The support portions (20) are only arranged on the two long-side inner wall surfaces (14) of the inner surface of the through holes (13), and only protrude from a part of the two long-side inner wall surfaces (14) in the through direction of the through holes (13). The opposing interval of the regions other than the support portions (20) on the two long-side inner wall surfaces (14) is greater than the thickness dimension of the terminal parts (30).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a connector is formed with a plurality of pin insertion holes, and pins are inserted into the pin insertion holes. The pin has a plurality of protruding portions, and the pin inserted into the pin insertion hole is held in a non-removable state by biting the protruding portions into the inner wall portion of the pin insertion hole.

[0003] Prior Art Documents

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-251993 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] Since the connector is made of synthetic resin, it sometimes deforms in a bent manner during the mold forming process. In this case, the orientations of the plurality of pin insertion holes are inclined at different angles according to the positions of the respective pin insertion holes, so that the plurality of pins inserted into the pin insertion holes become inconsistent in the mutually parallel orientations.

[0008] The connector of the present disclosure is completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to assemble a plurality of terminal parts with consistent parallel orientations even when the housing is deformed.

[0009] Solutions to the Problems

[0010] The connector of the present disclosure includes:

[0011] A housing made of synthetic resin;

[0012] A plurality of through holes formed in the housing so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, and having a slit-shaped opening shape in a front view; and

[0013] A plurality of terminal parts assembled in the housing in a state of penetrating through the through holes,

[0014] The plurality of through holes are arranged in parallel such that the long sides of the through holes are parallel to each other,

[0015] Protruding support portions are formed on the inner surface of the through holes, and the support portions abut against the outer surface of the terminal parts so as to sandwich the terminal parts,

[0016] The support portions are arranged only on two long-side inner wall surfaces along the long side of the inner surface of the through holes, and protrude only from a part of the long-side inner wall surface in the through direction of the through holes,

[0017] The opposed interval of the regions other than the supporting portion in the inner wall surfaces of the two long side portions is larger than the thickness dimension of the terminal part.

[0018] Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0019] According to the present disclosure, even if the housing is deformed, a plurality of terminal parts can be assembled with the same parallel orientation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the connector.

[0021] Figure 2 is a front view of the connector.

[0022] Figure 3 is a partially enlarged side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the terminal part is assembled in parallel with the penetrating direction of the through hole.

[0023] Figure 4 is a partially enlarged side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the terminal part is assembled obliquely with respect to the penetrating direction of the through hole.

[0024] Figure 5 is Figure 1 a partially enlarged top cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of

[0025] Figure 6 is an enlarged rear view of the through hole viewed from the rear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]

[0027] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example.

[0028] The connector of the present disclosure,

[0029] (1) Comprising: a housing made of synthetic resin; a plurality of through-holes formed in the housing so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, the opening shape in the front view being slit-shaped; and a plurality of terminal parts assembled in the housing in a state of penetrating through the through-holes, the plurality of through-holes being arranged side by side such that the long sides of the through-holes are parallel to each other, a protruding support portion being formed on the inner surface of the through-holes, the support portion abutting against the outer surface of the terminal part so as to sandwich the terminal part, the support portion being arranged only on two long-side inner wall surfaces along the long side in the inner surface of the through-holes, and only protruding from a part in the penetration direction of the through-holes in the long-side inner wall surfaces, the opposing interval of the regions other than the support portion in the two long-side inner wall surfaces being larger than the thickness dimension of the terminal part. According to this structure, the assembly direction of the terminal part with respect to the through-hole can be set within a predetermined angle range with the support portion as a fulcrum. Therefore, even if the housing is bent, the plurality of terminal parts can be assembled in a direction parallel to each other.

[0030] (2) Preferably, the terminal part has a contact portion protruding forward from the housing, and the support portion is arranged only at the front end portion of the through-hole. According to this structure, compared with the case where the support portion is arranged only at the rear end portion of the through-hole, the interval between the contact portion and the support portion is short, so the position of the contact portion can be stabilized.

[0031] (3) Preferably, the support portion is arranged only at both end portions in the long side direction of the long-side inner wall surface. According to this structure, compared with the case where the support portion is formed over the entire region in the long side direction of the long-side inner wall surface, the contact area between the support portion and the terminal part when the terminal part is inserted into the through-hole is small, so the insertion resistance is reduced.

[0032] (4) Preferably, the opposing interval between the two long-side inner wall surfaces in the region behind the support portion gradually expands rearward. According to this structure, when the terminal part is inserted into the through-hole from the rear of the housing, even if the terminal part is misaligned in the up-down direction, the terminal part can be guided toward the support portion.

[0033] (5) Preferably, a bearing surface capable of making surface contact with the terminal part is formed in the region behind the support portion in the long-side inner wall surface. When the terminal part is assembled in a state of contacting the long-side inner wall surface, if the contact area between the long-side inner wall surface and the terminal part is small, the contact portion of the long-side inner wall surface with the terminal part may be deformed. In the present disclosure, since the bearing surface, which is the contact portion of the long-side inner wall surface with the terminal part, makes surface contact with the terminal part, deformation of the long-side inner wall surface can be prevented.

[0034] (6) In (5), preferably, a guiding surface having an inclination angle larger than that of the bearing surface with respect to the penetration direction of the through hole is formed in a region of the inner wall surface on the long side closer to the rear than the bearing surface. According to this structure, when inserting the terminal part from the rear into the through hole, damage to the bearing surface by the terminal part can be prevented.

[0035] [Details of the Embodiment of the Present Disclosure]

[0036] [Example 1]

[0037] Refer to Figures 1 to 6 to describe Example 1 in which the connector of the present disclosure is embodied. In addition, the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is shown by the claims, and intends to include all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In Example 1, regarding the front-rear direction, the Figure 1 , 3 left side among ~5 is defined as the front. Regarding the up-down direction, the directions shown in Figures 1 to 4 , 6 are defined as the up direction and the down direction as they are. Regarding the left-right direction, the directions shown in Figure 2 , 6 are defined as the left direction and the right direction as they are.

[0038] The connector of Example 1 functions as a board connector to be assembled to a circuit board (not shown). The connector is formed by assembling a plurality of terminal parts 30 in a single housing 10 made of a synthetic resin material. The terminal part 30 is formed by vertically bending a slender metal plate.

[0039] As Figure 1 shown, the terminal part 30 has an arm part 31 extending linearly in the front-rear direction and a leg part 32 extending linearly downward from the rear end of the arm part 31. The thickness dimension of the arm part 31 in the up-down direction is smaller than the width dimension of the arm part 31 in the left-right direction. The front end part of the arm part 31 functions as a connection part 33 for connecting to a terminal on the other side (not shown). As Figure 5 shown, a pair of biting protrusions 35 are formed at positions on both left and right side edges of the arm part 31 behind the connection part 33. The lower end part of the leg part 32 functions as a board mounting part 34 for connecting to the circuit board (refer to Figure 1 ).

[0040] The housing 10 is a single member having a terminal holding part 11 and a cover part 12. The terminal holding part 11 is formed in a wall shape with the thickness direction facing the front-rear direction, and the cover part 12 protrudes forward in a square tube shape from the outer peripheral edge of the terminal holding part 11. A plurality of through holes 13 penetrating the terminal holding part 11 in the front-rear direction are formed in the terminal holding part 11. In Example 1, the front-rear direction and the penetration direction of the through holes 13 are used synonymously. As Figure 6As shown, when viewing the terminal holding portion 11 (housing 10) from the front in a front view, the opening shape of each through-hole 13 in the front surface of the terminal holding portion 11 forms a slit shape elongated in the left-right direction. That is, the opening shape of the through-hole 13 in the front surface of the terminal holding portion 11 is a rectangle having two long sides 13L extending in the left-right direction and two short sides 13S extending in the up-down direction.

[0041] The inner surface of the through-hole 13 is composed of a pair of long-side inner wall surfaces 14 that are symmetric about the up-down direction and a pair of short-side inner wall surfaces 18 that are symmetric about the left-right direction. The width dimension of the long-side inner wall surface 14 is larger than the height dimension of the short-side inner wall surface 18. A plurality of through-holes 13 are arranged at a certain interval in the up-down direction and also at a certain interval in the left-right direction. The plurality of through-holes 13 arranged in the up-down direction are arranged side by side in such a manner that the long sides 13L are parallel to each other.

[0042] As Figure 3 , 4 shown, the long-side inner wall surface 14 is composed of: a parallel surface 15, parallel to the through direction of the through-hole 13; a receiving surface 16, composed of a plane inclined with respect to the parallel surface 15; and a guiding surface 17, inclined with respect to the parallel surface 15. The parallel surface 15 is disposed at the front end portion of the through-hole 13. The up-down interval between the upper parallel surface 15 and the lower parallel surface 15 is a dimension larger than the thickness dimension of the arm portion 31 of the terminal part 30. The receiving surface 16 is connected to the rear end of the parallel surface 15 at an obtuse angle.

[0043] The opposing interval between the upper receiving surface 16 and the lower receiving surface 16 is the smallest at the front end of the receiving surface 16 and gradually increases toward the rear. The guiding surface 17 is disposed at the rear end portion of the through-hole 13 and is connected to the rear end of the receiving surface 16 at an obtuse angle. The opposing interval between the upper guiding surface 17 and the lower guiding surface 17 is the smallest at the front end of the guiding surface 17 and gradually increases toward the rear. The inclination angle of the guiding surface 17 with respect to the parallel surface 15 is larger than the inclination angle of the receiving surface 16 with respect to the parallel surface 15.

[0044] As Figure 5As shown, the short-side inner wall surface 18 is composed of a front inner side surface 19F that constitutes the front-end side region of the short-side inner wall surface 18 and a rear inner side surface 19R that constitutes the rear-end side region of the short-side inner wall surface 18. The front inner side surface 19F is a plane parallel to the penetration direction of the through-hole 13. The interval in the left-right direction between the left and right front inner side surfaces 19F is a dimension slightly larger than the width dimension of the arm portion 31 of the terminal part 30. The rear end of the front inner side surface 19F is located behind the front end of the receiving surface 16 and in front of the rear end of the receiving surface 16. The rear inner side surface 19R is composed of a plane inclined with respect to the front inner side surface 19F and is connected to the rear end of the front inner side surface 19F at an acute angle. The opposing interval between the left rear inner side surface 19R and the right rear inner side surface 19R is the smallest at the front end of the rear inner side surface 19R and gradually increases toward the rear.

[0045] Four support portions 20 are formed on the inner surface of the through-hole 13. At the left and right end portions in the upper long-side inner wall surface 14, two support portions 20 in a downward projecting form are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. At the left and right end portions in the lower long-side inner wall surface 14, two support portions 20 in an upward projecting form are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The interval between the two support portions 20 opposed in the up-down direction is set to be the same as or slightly smaller than the thickness dimension of the arm portion 31 of the terminal part 30. In addition, in Figure 3 , 4 , 6, the protruding dimension of the support portion 20 from the parallel surface 15 is exaggeratedly drawn for easy understanding of the description.

[0046] When the terminal part 30 is assembled to the housing 10, the arm portion 31 of the terminal part 30 is inserted into the through-hole 13 from the rear of the housing 10. In the state where the arm portion 31 is inserted, the left and right pair of biting protrusions 35 bite into the front inner side surface 19F. Through this biting action, the terminal part 30 is held relative to the terminal holding portion 11 in a state where relative displacement in the front-rear direction is restricted.

[0047] The opposing interval between the two long-side inner wall surfaces 14 in the region behind the support portion 20 in the through-hole 13 gradually expands rearward. When inserting the terminal part 30 into the through-hole 13 from the rear of the housing 10, even if the terminal part 30 is displaced in the vertical direction, the terminal part 30 can be guided toward the support portion 20. That is, a pair of guide surfaces 17 inclined in the vertical direction with respect to the front-rear direction are formed at the rear end portion of the through-hole 13, and a receiving surface 16 inclined with respect to the front-rear direction is also formed in front of the guide surface 17. Therefore, even if the position of the front end portion of the arm portion 31 deviates vertically during insertion, the arm portion 31 is guided into the parallel surface 15 by the inclination of the guide surface 17 and the inclination of the receiving surface 16. In addition, since a pair of left and right rear inner side surfaces 19R inclined in the left-right direction with respect to the front-rear direction are formed at the rear end portion of the through-hole 13, even if the position of the front end portion of the arm portion 31 deviates horizontally during insertion, the arm portion 31 is guided into the front inner side surface 19F by the inclination of the rear inner side surface 19R.

[0048] When the terminal holding portion 11 is not bent or deformed, the through directions (i.e., the orientations of the parallel surfaces 15) of the plurality of vertically arranged through-holes 13 are all consistent in the front-rear direction. In this case, as shown in the figure, the arm portions 31 of all the terminal parts 30 are inserted parallel to the through direction of the through-hole 13, so that the upper and lower surfaces of the arm portion 31 and the parallel surface 15 become parallel with a state of being opposed to each other with a vertical gap.

[0049] As Figure 3 shown, when the arm portion 31 is assembled parallel to the through direction of the through-hole 13, the receiving surface side gap 16C between the upper receiving surface 16 and the upper surface of the arm portion 31 and the receiving surface side gap 16C between the lower receiving surface 16 and the lower surface of the arm portion 31 are vertically symmetric. The vertical dimension of the receiving surface side gap 16C is the minimum dimension at the front end of the receiving surface 16 (i.e., the end portion closer to the support portion 20 in the front-rear direction), and becomes the maximum dimension at the rear end of the receiving surface 16 (i.e., the end portion farther from the support portion 20 in the front-rear direction).

[0050] The guide surface side gap 17C between the upper guide surface 17 and the upper surface of the arm portion 31 and the guide surface side gap 17C between the lower guide surface 17 and the lower surface of the arm portion 31 are also vertically symmetric. The vertical dimension of the guide surface side gap 17C is the minimum dimension at the front end of the guide surface 17 (i.e., the end portion closer to the support portion 20 in the front-rear direction), and becomes the maximum dimension at the rear end of the guide surface 17 (i.e., the end portion farther from the support portion 20 in the front-rear direction).

[0051] The housing 10 is formed by filling molten resin in a mold (not shown), so it may be deformed during the molding process. When viewing the side of the housing 10 in a side view parallel to the long side 13L of the through hole 13 from the side, when the terminal holding portion 11 is deformed in a bent manner, the through directions (i.e., the orientations of the parallel planes 15) of the plurality of vertically arranged through holes 13 become subtly different orientations. Therefore, the through direction of at least one through hole 13 is inclined slightly with respect to the front-rear direction. In this case, for all the through holes 13, all the arm portions 31 penetrate through the through holes 13 parallel to the front-rear direction. Thus, all the connecting portions 33 are aligned in parallel with each other in a side view, so that all the connecting portions 33 can be smoothly connected to a plurality of mating terminals (not shown).

[0052] In the through hole 13 whose through direction is oblique with respect to the front-rear direction, as Figure 4 shown, the arm portion 31 is assembled obliquely with respect to the through direction of the through hole 13 and the parallel plane 15. At the front end portion of the through hole 13, the support portion 20 protruding from the parallel plane 15 supports the arm portion 31, so that the arm portion 31 does not interfere with the parallel plane 15. In addition, in a side view, the protruding end of the support portion 20 is located on the extension line of the bearing surface 16 extending forward, so that when the arm portion 31 is most inclined with respect to the through hole 13, the arm portion 31 is in surface contact with the entire area of the bearing surface 16. Since the inclination angle of the guide surface 17 with respect to the front-rear direction is greater than the inclination angle of the bearing surface 16 with respect to the front-rear direction, the arm portion 31 does not interfere with the guide surface 17 in a state of being in surface contact with the bearing surface 16.

[0053] The connector of the present Embodiment 1 includes a housing 10 made of synthetic resin and a plurality of terminal parts 30. A plurality of through holes 13 penetrating the terminal holding portion 11 in the front-rear direction are formed in the housing 10. The opening shape of the through hole 13 in a front view is formed in a slit shape that is long in the left-right direction. The plurality of through holes 13 are arranged in parallel with the long sides 13L of the through holes 13 being parallel to each other. The plurality of terminal parts 30 are assembled to the housing 10 in a state of penetrating the plurality of through holes 13 individually.

[0054] Protrusion-shaped support portions 20 are formed on the inner surface of the through hole 13, and the support portions 20 are in contact with the outer surface of the terminal part 30 in a manner of sandwiching the terminal part 30 vertically. The support portions 20 are only arranged on the upper and lower two long-side inner wall surfaces 14 along the long side 13L in the inner surface of the through hole 13. The four support portions 20 protrude only from a part of the long-side inner wall surface 14 in the through direction of the through hole 13.

[0055] On the inner wall surfaces 14 of the two long side walls, there are formed two pairs of supporting portions 20 that sandwich the supporting terminal part 30. The supporting portions 20 that sandwich the terminal part 30 vertically are paired with each other. Among the two long side wall inner surfaces 14, the opposing interval in the region other than the supporting portion 20 (the entire region behind the supporting portion 20) in the penetrating direction of the through hole 13 is larger than the thickness dimension of the terminal part 30. According to this structure, the assembling direction of the terminal part 30 with respect to the through hole 13 can be set within a predetermined angle range with the supporting portion 20 as the fulcrum. Therefore, even if the housing 10 is bent, multiple terminal parts 30 can be assembled in a direction parallel to each other.

[0056] The terminal part 30 has a connecting portion 33 that protrudes forward from the terminal holding portion 11 of the housing 10 when assembled to the housing 10. The supporting portion 20 is only disposed at the front end portion of the through hole 13. According to this structure, compared with the case where the supporting portion 20 is only disposed at the rear end portion of the through hole 13, the front-rear direction interval between the connecting portion 33 and the supporting portion 20 is short, so the position of the connecting portion 33 can be stabilized.

[0057] When the supporting portion 20 is different from that of the first embodiment and is formed over the entire region in the long side 13L direction of the long side wall inner surface 14, the contact area between the supporting portion 20 and the terminal part 30 when the terminal part 30 is inserted into the through hole 13 is large, so the insertion resistance is large. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the supporting portion 20 is only disposed at both end portions in the long side 13L direction (left-right direction) of the long side wall inner surface 14. Thereby, the contact area between the supporting portion 20 and the terminal part 30 when the terminal part 30 is inserted into the through hole 13 becomes smaller, so the insertion resistance is reduced.

[0058] On the region of the long side wall inner surface 14 behind the supporting portion 20, there is formed a bearing surface 16 that can be in surface contact with the terminal part 30. When the terminal part 30 is assembled in a state of being in contact with the long side wall inner surface 14, when the contact area between the long side wall inner surface 14 and the terminal part 30 is small, the connecting portion of the long side wall inner surface 14 with the terminal part 30 may be deformed. In the present disclosure, since the bearing surface 16, which is the connecting portion of the long side wall inner surface 14 with the terminal part 30, is in surface contact with the terminal part 30, deformation of the long side wall inner surface 14 can be prevented.

[0059] On the region of the long side wall inner surface 14 behind the bearing surface 16, there is formed a guiding surface 17 with a larger inclination angle with respect to the penetrating direction of the through hole 13 than the bearing surface 16. According to this structure, when the terminal part 30 is inserted into the through hole 13 from the rear, damage to the bearing surface 16 by the terminal part 30 can be prevented.

[0060] [Other embodiments]

[0061] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings, but is set forth in the claims. It is intended that the present invention include all modifications within the meaning equivalent to the claims and within the scope of the claims, as well as the following embodiments.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the support portion is disposed only at the front end portion of the through hole, but the support portion may also be disposed only at the rear end portion of the through hole, or only at the central portion in the front-rear direction of the through hole.

[0063] In the above embodiment, the support portions are disposed only at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the long-side inner wall surface, but the support portions may also be disposed only at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the long-side inner wall surface, or may be continuous over the entire area in the longitudinal direction of the long-side inner wall surface.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the support portion is disposed only at the front end portion in the through direction of the through hole, but the support portion may also be disposed only at the rear end portion in the through direction of the through hole, or may be disposed only at the central portion in the through direction of the through hole.

[0065] In the above embodiment, when the terminal part is inclined, the terminal part is in surface contact with the long-side inner wall surface, but the terminal part may also be in contact with a protruding portion on the long-side inner wall surface when inclined.

[0066] In the above embodiment, a guide surface is formed in a region of the long-side inner wall surface that is rearward of the bearing surface, but such a guide surface may not be formed, and the bearing surface may be formed to the rear end of the through hole.

[0067] Description of Reference Numerals

[0068] 10: Housing

[0069] 11: Terminal holding portion

[0070] 12: Cover portion

[0071] 13: Through hole

[0072] 13L: Long side

[0073] 13S: Short side

[0074] 14: Long-side inner wall surface

[0075] 15: Parallel surface

[0076] 16: Bearing surface

[0077] 16C: Clearance on the bearing surface side

[0078] 17: Guide surface

[0079] 17C: Clearance on the guide surface side

[0080] 18: Inner wall surface on the short side

[0081] 19F: Inner front surface

[0082] 19R: Inner rear surface

[0083] 20: Support portion

[0084] 30: Terminal part

[0085] 31: Arm portion

[0086] 32: Leg portion

[0087] 33: Connecting portion

[0088] 34: Substrate mounting portion

[0089] 35: Biting projection

Claims

1. A connector, comprising: A housing made of synthetic resin; A plurality of through-holes formed in the housing so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, and the opening shape of the front view of the housing as viewed from the front is in the shape of a slit elongated in the left-right direction; and A plurality of terminal parts assembled in the housing in a state of penetrating through the through-holes, The plurality of through-holes are arranged side by side such that the long sides of the through-holes are parallel to each other, Protrusion-shaped support portions are formed on the inner surface of the through-holes, and the support portions abut against the outer surface of the terminal parts so as to sandwich the terminal parts, The support portions are only arranged on the two long-side inner wall surfaces along the long side in the inner surface of the through-holes, and only protrude from a part in the through direction of the through-holes in the long-side inner wall surfaces, The opposing interval of the regions other than the support portions in the two long-side inner wall surfaces is larger than the thickness dimension of the terminal parts.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein The terminal parts have contact portions protruding forward from the housing, The support portions are only arranged at the front end portions of the through-holes.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, The support portions are only arranged at both end portions in the long-side direction of the long-side inner wall surfaces.

4. The connector according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, The opposing interval between the two long-side inner wall surfaces in the region behind the support portions gradually expands rearward.

5. The connector according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, A bearing surface capable of making surface contact with the terminal parts is formed in the region behind the support portions in the long-side inner wall surfaces.

6. The connector according to claim 5, wherein, A guide surface having a larger inclination angle with respect to the through direction of the through-holes than the bearing surface is formed in the region behind the bearing surface in the long-side inner wall surfaces.

Images