Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector capable of insert-molding a housing to accommodate terminals while suppressing deformation of the terminals.SOLUTION: A resin housing 3 is insert-molded with terminals 2A, 2B arranged in the vertical direction. The housing 3 has a solid portion 31 filled with resin between the terminals 2A, 2B. The terminals 2A, 2B each have a contact surface 24 that protrudes to the right in the portion accommodated in the solid portion 31. The contact surfaces 24 of the terminals 2A, 2B are positionally offset in the front-back direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

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, Each of the plurality of terminals has a protruding portion that protrudes to one side in a width direction of the terminal at a portion accommodated in the solid portion, The protrusions of the terminals arranged in the thickness direction are offset in the length direction. 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 preferred 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 shown in FIGS. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a top view of the terminal shown in FIGS. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a lower mold and an upper mold for insert-molding the housing shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged view of part B in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the terminal 2B is mounted on the lower die shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is a side view showing the state immediately before the terminal 2A is 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 a side view showing the state immediately before the upper and lower dies shown in FIG. 6 are brought into contact with each other. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a side view showing a state in which the upper mold and the lower mold shown in FIG. 6 are joined together. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a partial enlarged view of part G in FIG. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 16 after the resin has been filled. 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 19. 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 left-right direction corresponds to the "width direction" of the present invention, and the front-rear direction corresponds to the "length 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 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 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 Fig. 3 to Fig. 5, the terminals 2A, 2B have a central portion 21 perpendicular to the up-down direction, a pair of end portions 22, 23 provided by bending both front-rear direction sides of the central portion 21 along the left-right direction, and a plurality of abutment surface portions 24 protruding to the right side from the central portion 21. In the central portion 21, the up-down direction is the thickness direction, and the central portions 21 of the terminals 2A, 2B are accommodated side by side in the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A is arranged on the upper side, and the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B is arranged on the lower side, as shown in Fig. 3.

[0014] 3, the end 22 is bent so that its tip faces downward. The end 23 is bent so that its tip faces upward. In the ends 22, 23, the ends 22, 23 of the terminals 2A, 2B are accommodated side by side in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, 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] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the rear side of central portion 21 is formed in a crank shape that protrudes to the right at one end and then upward so that the left-right positions of end portion 22 and end portion 23 are offset.

[0016] In this embodiment, two abutment surfaces 24 are provided spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The abutment surface 24 of terminal 2A and the abutment surface 24 of terminal 2B are accommodated in housing 3 so as to be misaligned in the front-rear direction (the length direction of central portion 21) as shown in FIG.

[0017] 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.

[0018] Next, a manufacturing process of the connector 1 described above will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 19. 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] Support portions 43A and 43B protrude upward from the bottom surface of the recess 41. The support portion 43A is provided in a generally cylindrical shape and supports the central portion 21 of the terminal 2A from below. The support portion 43B is provided in a generally cylindrical shape and supports the central portion 21 of the terminal 2B from below. The support portion 43A is provided higher than the support portion 43B, and is provided higher than the upper surface of the lower mold 4 as shown in FIG. 9. The support portions 43A and 43B are provided alternately in the front-rear direction.

[0021] In this embodiment, five support parts 43A are provided side by side in the left-right direction and two in the front-rear direction. Five support parts 43B are provided side by side in the left-right direction and two in the front-rear direction. As shown in Fig. 7, one support part 43B is disposed between two support parts 43A arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and one support part 43A is disposed between two support parts 43B arranged side by side in the front-rear direction.

[0022] 9, a rectangular prism-shaped protrusion 44 is provided from the bottom surface of the recess 42, and a hole 45 for accommodating the tip of the end 22 of the terminals 2A, 2B is provided in the protrusion 44. The tip of the end 22 of the terminals 2A, 2B is accommodated without gaps in the hole 45. The protrusion 44 described above forms the internal space of the hood portion 32.

[0023] 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 is provided on its lower surface with two recesses 51, 52 (FIG. 14) that are connected in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 14, 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 52 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 52 on the front side.

[0024] Support portions 53A and 53B protrude downward from the bottom surface of recess 51. Support portion 53A is formed in a generally cylindrical shape and supports central portion 21 of terminal 2A from above. Support portion 53B is formed in a generally cylindrical shape and supports central portion 21 of terminal 2B from above. Support portion 53B is formed higher than support portion 53A, and as shown in FIG. 14, is formed higher than the lower surface of upper mold 5. Support portions 53A and 53B are alternately arranged in the front-rear direction.

[0025] In this embodiment, five support parts 53A are arranged in the left-right direction and two in the front-rear direction. Five support parts 53B are arranged in the left-right direction and two in the front-rear direction. One support part 53B is arranged between two support parts 53A arranged in the front-rear direction, and one support part 53A is arranged between two support parts 53B arranged in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, when the lower mold 4 and the upper mold 5 are joined together, the support part 43A provided on the lower mold 4 and the support part 53A provided on the upper mold 5 face each other in the vertical direction. In addition, the support part 43B provided on the lower mold 4 and the support part 53B provided on the upper mold 5 face each other in the vertical direction.

[0026] A rectangular prism-shaped protrusion 54 is provided from the bottom surface of the recess 52, and a hole 55 is provided in the protrusion 54 to accommodate the tip of the end 23 of the terminals 2A, 2B. The tip of the end 23 of the terminals 2A, 2B is accommodated without gaps in the hole 55. The above-mentioned protrusion 54 forms the internal space of the hood portion 33.

[0027] Next, the manufacturing process of the above-mentioned connector 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 8 to Fig. 19. First, as shown in Fig. 8 to Fig. 10, the terminal 2B is brought close to the lower mold 4 from above, and the tip of the terminal 2B is inserted into the hole 45. Furthermore, the terminal 2B is brought close to the lower mold 4 from above, and the abutment surface portion 24 is placed on the support portion 43B. As shown in Fig. 10, the support portion 43A protrudes between the abutment surface portions 24 of the terminal 2B and from behind the abutment surface portion 24.

[0028] 11 and 12, terminal 2A is brought closer to lower die 4 from above, and the tip of end 22 of terminal 2A is inserted into hole 45. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, terminal 2A is brought even closer to lower die 4 and abutment surface 24 is placed on support portion 43A. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the abutment surface 24 of terminal 2A and the abutment surface 24 of terminal 2B are misaligned in the front-to-rear direction, and abutment surface 24 of terminal 2A can be placed on support portion 43A.

[0029] Thereafter, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the upper die 5 is moved downward, and the tips of the ends 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B are inserted into the holes 55 of the upper die 5. Furthermore, the upper die 5 is moved downward, and the lower surface of the upper die 5 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the lower die 4 as shown in Figs. 16 to 18, to close the openings of the recesses 41, 42, 51, and 52. As a result, as shown in Fig. 18, the support portion 53A contacts the upper surface of the abutment surface portion 24 of the terminal 2A and supports it from above. That is, the terminal 2A is supported from below by the support portion 43A and is also supported from above by the support portion 53A. In addition, the support portion 53B supports the upper surface of the abutment surface portion 24 of the terminal 2B and supports it from above. That is, the terminal 2A is also supported from below by the support portion 43B and is also supported from above by the support portion 53B.

[0030] Next, as shown in Fig. 19, liquid resin is poured into the recesses 41, 42 of the lower mold 4 and the recesses 51, 52 of the upper mold 5. Thereafter, 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 34 are provided in the housing 3 in portions corresponding to the support portions 43A, 43B, 53A, 53B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The holes 34 are holes that extend from the outer surface of the housing 3 to the abutment surfaces 24 of the terminals 2A, 2B.

[0031] According to the embodiment described above, the terminals 2A and 2B are provided with the abutment surface 24, and the abutment surface 24 of the terminal 2A and the abutment surface 24 of the terminal 2B are offset in the front-rear direction. This allows the abutment surface 24 of the terminals 2A and 2B to be supported from both the top and bottom sides by the support portions 43A, 43B, 53A, and 53B provided on the lower mold 4 and the upper mold 5. This allows the housing 3 to be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals 2A and 2B.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[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-described embodiment, the two terminals 2A and 2B are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, but this is not limited to this. Three or more terminals may be arranged side by side in the vertical direction (thickness direction).

[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 [2]. [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), The housing (3) has a solid portion (31) filled with resin between the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B), Each of the plurality of terminals (2A, 2B) has a protruding portion (24) protruding to one side in the width direction (left-right direction) of the terminal (2A, 2B) at a portion accommodated in the solid portion (31), The protrusions (24) of the terminals (2A, 2B) arranged in the thickness direction (vertical direction) are offset in the length direction (front-rear direction). Connector(1).

[0037] According to the configuration [1], the protrusions (24) of the terminals (2A, 2B) can be supported from both sides in the thickness direction (vertical direction) by the support portions (43A, 43B, 53A, 53B) provided in the molds (4, 5). Therefore, the housing (3) can be insert molded while suppressing deformation of the terminals (2A, 2B).

[0038] [2] [1] The connector according to the present invention, 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 a hood portion (32) that collectively surrounds 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). [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Connector 2A,2B terminal 3. Housing 24 Contact surface (protruding part) 31 Solid section 32 Food Section

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, Each of the plurality of terminals has a protruding portion that protrudes to one side in a width direction of the terminal at a portion accommodated in the solid portion, The protrusions of the terminals arranged in the thickness direction are offset in the length direction. 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.

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