Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector capable of insert-molding a housing to accommodate terminals while suppressing deformation of the terminals.SOLUTION: Terminals 2A, 2B are provided in a plate form. A resin housing 3 is insert-molded with the terminals 2A, 2B arranged in the thickness direction. The housing 3 has a solid portion 31 filled with resin between the terminals 2A, 2B. The terminal 2B is provided with a bent portion 211 bent along the length direction of the terminal 2B, which is housed within the solid portion 31. The terminal 2A is not provided with a bent portion 211.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, connectors have been proposed that have multiple flat terminals and a housing that accommodates the terminals (Patent Document 1). In order to increase the number of terminals that can be accommodated, it is possible to accommodate multiple terminals by stacking them in the thickness direction. When such a connector is insert molded, the terminals are left floating in the mold or only one side of the terminals in the thickness direction is supported. For this reason, there was a problem that the terminals are deformed by the pressure of the resin when the liquefied resin is filled into the mold, which leads to poor alignment of both ends of the terminals and poor conduction with other terminals. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-22874 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to provide a connector in which a housing that accommodates terminals can be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the connector according to the present invention has the following features. A connector comprising a plurality of plate-shaped terminals and a resin housing insert-molded with the plurality of terminals arranged in a thickness direction, the housing has a solid portion filled with resin between the plurality of terminals, At least one of the plurality of terminals is provided with a bent portion that is bent along the length direction of the terminal at a portion that is accommodated in the solid portion. It is a connector. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector in which a housing that accommodates terminals can be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals.

[0007] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the connector shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the terminal 2A shown in FIGS. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the terminal 2B shown in FIGS. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a mold for insert-molding the housing shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a side view of the lower die shown in FIG. 6 after the terminal 2B has been mounted thereon. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a side view showing the state immediately before the terminal 2A is mounted on the lower die shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is a side view showing the state immediately before the upper and lower dies are brought together after the terminal 2A has been mounted on the lower die shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a side view of the upper and lower dies shown in FIG. 6 after they have been joined together. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 14 before the resin is filled. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 15 after the resin has been filled. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of part G in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] For convenience of explanation, "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper" and "lower" are defined below as shown in Figs. 1 to 17. The "front-rear direction", "left-right direction" and "up-down direction" are perpendicular to each other. The up-down direction corresponds to the "thickness direction" of the present invention, the front-rear direction corresponds to the "length direction" of the present invention, and the left-right direction corresponds to the "width direction" of the present invention.

[0011] The connector 1 is, for example, a connector constituting a part of a wire harness arranged in a vehicle, etc. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the connector 1 includes a plurality of flat terminals 2A, a plurality of flat terminals 2B, and a resin housing 3 that is insert-molded with the plurality of terminals 2A, 2B arranged side by side.

[0012] The terminals 2A, 2B are formed by punching and pressing a metal plate. The multiple terminals 2A are arranged in the left-right direction (width direction) and housed in the housing 3. The multiple terminals 2B are arranged in the left-right direction and housed in the housing 3. The multiple terminals 2A and the multiple terminals 2B are arranged in the up-down direction (thickness direction) and housed in the housing 3. In this embodiment, five terminals 2A are arranged in the left-right direction, and five terminals 2B are arranged in the left-right direction. The five terminals 2A and five terminals 2B are arranged in the up-down direction.

[0013] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the terminals 2A, 2B have a central portion 21 perpendicular to the up-down direction, and a pair of end portions 22, 23 provided by bending both sides of the central portion 21 in the front-rear direction (length direction) along the left-right direction. In the central portion 21, the up-down direction is the thickness direction, and the central portions 21 of the terminals 2A, 2B are housed side by side in the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A is disposed on the upper side, and the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B is disposed on the lower side, as shown in Figure 3.

[0014] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the end 22 is bent so that its tip faces downward. The end 23 is bent so that its tip faces upward. The front-to-rear direction of the ends 22, 23 is the thickness direction, and the ends 22, 23 of the terminals 2A, 2B are accommodated side by side in the front-to-rear direction. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the ends 22, 23 of the terminal 2A are arranged on the rear side, and the ends 22, 23 of the terminal 2B are arranged on the front side.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 4, the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A is wider than the end portions 22 and 23. The central portion 21 of the terminal 2A is not provided with bent portions 211 and is provided in a flat plate shape. As shown in Fig. 5, the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B is also wider than the end portions 22 and 23 and is provided with bent portions 211 in which both left and right ends of this wide portion are bent upward, i.e., bent along the front-rear direction (length direction). The central portion 21 of the terminal 2B is provided with a smaller left-right width than the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A by the amount of the bent portions 211 provided.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the housing 3 has a solid portion 31 that accommodates the central portion 21 and the central portion 21 side of the end portions 22 and 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B, and hood portions 32 and 33 that accommodate the tips of the end portions 22 and 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B. In the solid portion 31, resin is filled between the outer surface of the housing 3 and the terminals 2A and 2B, and resin is also filled between the terminals 2A and 2B. The tips of the end portions 22 and 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B protrude from both ends of the solid portion 31. The hood portions 32 and 33 are formed in a cylindrical shape that surrounds the tips of the end portions 22 and 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B that protrude from the solid portion 31. A mating connector is fitted into the hood portions 32 and 33.

[0017] Next, a manufacturing process of the connector 1 described above will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 17. As shown in Fig. 6, the connector 1 is manufactured using two lower molds 4 and an upper mold 5. First, the lower mold 4 and the upper mold 5 will be described. The lower mold 4 is formed in a cube shape and is disposed below the upper mold 5. The lower mold 4 has two recesses 41, 42 that are continuous in the front-rear direction on its upper surface. The recess 41 forms the lower side of the front side of the solid portion 31. The recess 42 forms the hood portion 32 of the housing 3 and the lower side of the rear side of the solid portion 31. The recess 41 is provided with a lower height in the up-down direction than the recess 42.

[0018] Support portions 43A and 43B protrude upward from the bottom surface of the recess 41. The support portion 43B is provided in a substantially cylindrical shape and supports the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B from below. In this embodiment, five support portions 43B are provided lined up in the left-right direction and four support portions 43B are provided lined up in the front-rear direction. That is, in this embodiment, five terminals 2B are mounted lined up in the left-right direction in the lower mold 4, and the central portion 21 of one terminal 2B is supported by four support portions 43B.

[0019] The support portion 43A is provided in a plate shape perpendicular to the front-rear direction, and is provided with a plurality of grooves 43A1 reaching the bottom surface of the recess 41. As shown in Fig. 7, the support portion 43A is provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the lower mold 4. As shown in Fig. 13, steps 43A2 are provided on both left and right sides of the grooves 43A1. The left and right width of the grooves 43A1 below the steps 43A2 is set to be larger than the width of the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B and smaller than the width of the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A.

[0020] Also, the width of the groove 43A1 in the left-right direction above the step 43A2 is wider than that of the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A. This allows the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B to be inserted into the groove 43A1 below the step 43A2 and mounted on the support 43B. Also, the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A is supported from below on both left-right sides by the step 43A2. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, three support portions 43A are provided side by side in the front-rear direction, and five groove portions 43A1 are provided side by side in the left-right direction in one support portion 43A. That is, in this embodiment, five terminals 2A are mounted side by side in the left-right direction above the lower mold 4, and the central portion 21 of one terminal 2A is supported by three support portions 43A.

[0021] A rectangular prism-shaped protrusion (not shown) is provided from the bottom surface of the recess 42, and a hole (not shown) is provided in the protrusion to accommodate the tip of the end 22 of the terminals 2A, 2B. The tip of the end 22 of the terminals 2A, 2B is accommodated in the hole without any gap. The above-mentioned protrusion forms the internal space of the hood portion 32.

[0022] The upper die 5 is disposed above the lower die 4 and is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The upper die 5 is formed in a cube shape, and has two recesses 51 (FIG. 12) that are connected in the front-rear direction on the lower surface. As shown in FIG. 12, the recess 51 provided on the rear side forms the upper side of the rear side of the solid portion 31 of the housing 3. The recess (not shown) provided on the front side forms the hood portion 33 of the housing 3 and the upper side of the front side of the solid portion 31. The recess 51 on the rear side is provided so as to be lower in the vertical direction than the recess on the front side.

[0023] A support portion 53A protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the recess 51. The support portion 53A is provided in a substantially cylindrical shape and supports the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A from above. In this embodiment, five support portions 53A are provided lined up in the left-right direction and three support portions 53A are provided lined up in the front-rear direction. That is, in this embodiment, five terminals 2A are mounted lined up in the left-right direction, and the central portion 21 of one terminal 2A is supported from above by the three support portions 53A.

[0024] A rectangular prism-shaped protrusion (not shown) is provided from the bottom surface of the recess provided on the front side, and holes (not shown) are provided in the protrusion to accommodate the tips of the ends 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B. The tips of the ends 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B are accommodated in the holes without any gaps. The above-mentioned protrusion forms the internal space of the hood portion 33.

[0025] Next, the manufacturing process of the connector 1 described above will be described with reference to Figs. 7 to 17. First, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the terminal 2B is brought closer to the lower mold 4 from above, and the tip of the end 22 of the terminal 2B is inserted into a hole provided in a convex portion (not shown) protruding from the bottom surface of the recess 42. The terminal 2B is brought even closer to the lower mold, and the central portion 21 is placed on the support portion 43B. Next, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the terminal 2A is brought closer to the lower mold 4 from above, and the tip of the end 22 of the terminal 2A is inserted into a hole provided in a convex portion (not shown) protruding from the bottom surface of the recess 42. As shown in Figs. 11 to 13, the terminal 2A is brought even closer to the lower mold 4, and the central portion 21 is placed on the step portion 43A2 of the support portion 43A.

[0026] Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper mold 5 is moved downward. In addition, the tips of the ends 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B are inserted into holes provided in the protrusions protruding from the bottom surface of the recess provided on the front side of the upper mold 5. Next, the lower surface of the upper mold 5 and the upper surface of the lower mold 4 are brought into contact with each other to close the openings of the recesses 41, 42, and 51. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, the support portion 53A comes into contact with the upper surface of the center portion 21 of the terminal 2A and supports it from above. That is, the terminal 2A is supported from below by the step portion 43A2 and is also supported from above by the support portion 53A. On the other hand, the terminal 2B is supported from below by the support portion 43B but is not supported from above.

[0027] Next, as shown in Figs. 16 and 17, liquid resin is poured into the recesses 41 and 42 of the lower mold 4 and the recess 51 of the upper mold 5. After that, when the resin is cooled and solidified, the upper mold 5 is moved upward and separated from the lower mold 4, and the connector 1 is removed. At this time, holes 34A and 34B are provided in the housing 3 at portions corresponding to the support portions 43B and 53A, as shown in Fig. 3. The hole 34A is a hole that extends from the outer surface of the housing 3 to the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A. The hole 34B is a hole that extends from the outer surface of the housing 3 to the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B. A hole (not shown) corresponding to the support portion 43A is also formed.

[0028] According to the embodiment described above, the terminal 2B is provided with the bent portion 211. The rigidity of the terminal 2B can be increased by the bent portion 211. Therefore, the housing 3 can be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminal 2B.

[0029] According to the above-described embodiment, even if the housing 3 accommodates the crank-shaped terminals 2A, 2B with bent ends, the housing 3 can be insert-molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals 2A, 2B.

[0030] According to the embodiment described above, the width of the lower terminal 2B is set smaller than the width of the upper terminal 2A, so that the upper terminal 2A can be supported from below by the support portion 43A.

[0031] According to the embodiment described above, the terminal 2A is not provided with the bent portion 211. This allows the height of the connector 1 in the vertical direction to be reduced. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 15, the terminal 2A is supported from above and below by the support portions 43A and 53A. This allows deformation of the terminal 2A to be suppressed even if the bent portion 211 is not provided.

[0032] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.

[0033] According to the embodiment described above, the terminal 2A is not provided with the bent portion 211, but this is not limited thereto. The terminal 2A may also be provided with the bent portion 211.

[0034] According to the above-described embodiment, the terminals 2A, 2B are provided in a crank shape, but this is not limiting, and the terminals 2A, 2B may be provided in a straight shape.

[0035] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the terminals 2A and 2B are arranged in two in the vertical direction, but this is not limited to this. Three or more terminals may be arranged in the vertical direction (thickness direction). For example, consider a case where the three terminals 2A, 2C, and 2B are arranged in this order from the top. The width of the center portion 21 of the terminals 2A, 2C, and 2B is set to become smaller from top to bottom. In addition, if two step portions 43A2 are provided in the support portion 43A and the width is set to become smaller from top to bottom at the step portion 43A2, the middle terminal 2C is supported by the lower step portion 43A2, and the upper terminal 2A is supported by the upper step portion 43A2. In this case, since the uppermost terminal 2A is supported from both above and below as in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is possible to provide the bent portion 211 only to the terminals 2B and 2C without providing the bent portion 211 to the terminal 2A.

[0036] Here, the features of the above-described embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [4]. [1] A connector (1) comprising a plurality of plate-shaped terminals (2A, 2B) and a resin housing (3) insert-molded with the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B) arranged in a thickness direction (vertical direction or front-rear direction), The housing (3) has a solid portion (31) filled with resin between the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B), At least one of the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B) is provided with a bent portion (211) bent along the length direction (front-rear direction) of the terminal (2A, 2B) in a portion accommodated in the solid portion (31). Connector(1).

[0037] According to the above configuration [1], the bent portions 211 are provided to increase the rigidity of the terminals 2A, 2B, which allows the housing 3 to be insert-molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals 2A, 2B.

[0038] [2] In the connector (1) according to [1], Each of the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B) has a central portion (21) and a pair of end portions (22, 23) formed by bending both sides of the central portion (21) along a width direction (left-right direction), the solid portion (31) of the housing (3) accommodates the central portion (21) of the terminals (2A, 2B) and the central portion (21) side of the end portions (22, 23) of the terminals (2A, 2B); The housing (3) has hood portions (32, 33) which surround the tips of the ends (22, 23) of the multiple terminals (2A, 2B) and into which a mating connector is fitted. Connector(1).

[0039] According to the above configuration [2], even if the housing (3) accommodates terminals (2A, 2B) having bent ends, the housing (3) can be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals (2A, 2B).

[0040] [3] In the connector (1) according to [1], The plurality of terminals (2A, 2B) are provided so that their widths become smaller from one side (upper side) to the other side (lower side) in the thickness direction (vertical direction). Connector(1).

[0041] According to the configuration [3] above, by providing the support portion (43A) in the mold (4) on the other side (lower side), in which the groove portion (43A1) whose width decreases from one side (upper side) toward the other side (lower side) in the thickness direction (vertical direction) is formed, the terminal (2A) arranged on one side (upper side) of the terminal (2B) arranged furthest on the other side (lower side) in the thickness direction can be supported from the other side (lower side) by the support portion (43A).

[0042] [4] In the connector (1) according to [3], The terminal (2A) disposed on the furthest side (upper side) in the thickness direction (vertical direction) is not provided with the bent portion (211). Connector(1).

[0043] According to the configuration [4] above, the terminal (2A) disposed at the furthest side (upper side) in the thickness direction (vertical direction) does not have the bent portion (211). By not providing the bent portion (211), the height of the connector (1) in the thickness direction (vertical direction) can be reduced. Moreover, the terminal (2A) disposed at the furthest side (upper side) in the thickness direction (vertical direction) can be supported in the mold (4, 5) from both sides in the thickness direction (vertical direction) by the support portions (43A, 53A), so that deformation of the terminals (2A, 2B) can be suppressed even if the bent portion (211) is not provided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 Connector 2A,2B terminal 3. Housing 21 Central part 22,23 End 31 Solid section 32,33 Hood section 211 Bending part

Claims

1. A connector comprising a plurality of plate-shaped terminals and a resin housing insert-molded with the plurality of terminals arranged in a thickness direction, the housing has a solid portion filled with resin between the plurality of terminals, At least one of the plurality of terminals is provided with a bent portion that is bent along the length direction of the terminal at a portion that is accommodated in the solid portion. connector.

2. 2. The connector according to claim 1, Each of the plurality of terminals has a central portion and a pair of end portions formed by bending both sides of the central portion along a width direction, the solid portion of the housing accommodates the central portion of the terminal and the central portion side of the end portion of the terminal, The housing has a hood portion that surrounds the tips of the ends of the plurality of terminals and into which a mating connector is fitted. connector.

3. 2. The connector according to claim 1, The terminals are provided so that their widths become smaller from one side to the other side in the thickness direction. connector.

4. 4. The connector according to claim 3, The terminal disposed on the furthest one side in the thickness direction is not provided with the bent portion. connector.

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