Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector equipped with a terminal capable of preventing deformation of a spring portion due to impact.SOLUTION: A connector 10 includes a terminal 30 and a restricting member 50. The connector 10 includes a mating terminal accommodating portion 110 that accommodates a mating terminal along a predetermined direction. The terminal 30 includes multiple spring portions 310 and a connecting portion 320 that connects the spring portions 310. Each of the spring portions 310 extends cantilever-like from the connecting portion 320. Each of the spring portions 310 includes a restricted portion 314 and a contact point 312 that contacts the mating terminal. The restricted portion 314 is located between the contact point 312 and the connecting portion 320. The spring portion 310 is located outside the accommodating portion 110 in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction. The restricting member 50 includes a restricting portion 510. The restricting portion 510 is located within the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 and restricts excessive movement of the restricted portion 314 of the spring portion 310 toward the mating terminal accommodating portion 110.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector including a terminal having a spring portion. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connector having a slotted terminal.

[0003] 12, the slotted terminal 90 of the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of elastic pieces (spring portions) 910. One end of each elastic piece 910 is connected to a base portion 920, and the elastic piece 910 extends from the base portion 920 in a predetermined direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-208265 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Slotted terminals are also used in charging connectors. Charging connectors are heavy, and careless handling can lead to them being dropped or colliding with surrounding objects. Furthermore, a strong impact, such as a drop, can cause the spring portion of the charging connector terminal to bend excessively inward, potentially causing plastic deformation.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector having terminals that can prevent deformation of spring portions due to impact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a first connector including a terminal and a restricting member, The connector has a receiving portion that receives a mating terminal along a predetermined direction, The terminal has a plurality of spring portions and a connecting portion connecting the spring portions, Each of the spring portions extends from the connecting portion in a cantilever manner, Each of the spring portions is provided with a restricted portion and a contact point that comes into contact with a mating terminal, the restricted portion is located between the contact point and the connecting portion, the spring portion is located outside the accommodation portion in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, The regulating member has a regulating portion, The restricting portion is located within the housing portion and restricts excessive movement of the restricted portion of the spring portion toward the inside of the housing portion. Provide a connector.

[0008] The present invention provides a first connector as a second connector, The connector further comprises a housing; the housing has a terminal accommodating portion that opens in the predetermined direction, The terminals are disposed in the terminal accommodating portions and are held by the housing. Provide a connector.

[0009] The present invention provides a third connector, which is the second connector, The connector is provided with an anti-electric shock pin, The shock prevention pin has an insulating tip, The insulating tip portion is located in the terminal accommodating portion farther from the connecting portion than the tip of the spring portion of the terminal. Provide a connector.

[0010] The present invention provides a fourth connector, which is the third connector, The restricting portion is provided on the electric shock prevention pin, The electric shock prevention pin functions as the restricting member. Provide a connector.

[0011] The present invention provides a fifth connector, which is the first connector, the spring portion has a predetermined area that extends from the connecting portion toward the tip of the spring portion and occupies at least 10% of the entire length of the spring portion; The restricted portion is provided outside the predetermined region of the spring portion. Provide a connector.

[0012] The present invention provides a sixth connector, which is the fifth connector, The predetermined area occupies at least 20% of the total length of the spring portion. Provide a connector.

[0013] The present invention provides a seventh connector, which is the first connector, The position of the restriction portion in the predetermined direction is fixed. Provide a connector. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, the spring portion of the terminal is located outside the accommodating portion in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, while the restricting portion of the restricting member is located inside the accommodating portion, thereby restricting excessive movement of the restricted portion of the spring portion toward the accommodating portion, thereby preventing plastic deformation of the spring portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a front view showing the connector of FIG. 1, illustrating one of the terminals and its surrounding area in an enlarged manner. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA showing a part of the connector of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view showing one of the terminals and one of the electric shock prevention pins included in the connector of FIG. 1. The electric shock prevention pin is held by the terminal. [Figure 5]5 is a perspective view showing the terminal and the shock prevention pin of FIG. 4, with the shock prevention pin removed from the terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a front view showing the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 7 is a BB cross-sectional view showing the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin of Fig. 6. One restricting portion and one restricted portion are shown enlarged. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 7 showing the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin. [Figure 9] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 10] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin of FIG. 9. The electric shock prevention pin is held by the terminal. The cutting position corresponds to the line BB in FIG. 6. One restricting portion and one restricted portion are shown enlarged. [Figure 11] 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 10 showing the terminal and the electric shock prevention pin. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a slotted terminal included in the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Referring to Figure 1, connector 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a charging connector. Connector 10 can be mated with a mating connector (not shown) that has mating terminals (not shown) along the front-rear direction (a predetermined direction). In this embodiment, the front-rear direction is the Y direction. The -Y direction is the front, and the +Y direction is the rear.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 2, the connector 10 according to this embodiment includes a housing 20, two terminals 30, two electric shock prevention pins 40, and two restricting members 50. The two terminals 30 have the same configuration. The two electric shock prevention pins 40 also have the same configuration. The two restricting members 50 also have the same configuration. The electric shock prevention pins 40 correspond to the terminals 30, respectively. The restricting members 50 also correspond to the terminals 30, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, at least one terminal 30 is sufficient. In addition, the electric shock prevention pin 40 is not essential to the present invention. Below, one of the terminals 30 and its corresponding electric shock prevention pin 40 and restricting member 50 will be described.

[0018] 3, the housing 20 has a terminal accommodating portion 210 that is open in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the terminal accommodating portion 210 is open toward the front. The terminal 30 is disposed in the terminal accommodating portion 210 and is held by the housing 20.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, the terminal accommodating portion 210 partially constitutes the mating terminal accommodating portion (accommodating portion) 110. In other words, the terminal accommodating portion 210 includes the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. The mating terminal accommodating portion 110 at least partially accommodates a mating terminal (not shown) along the front-rear direction when the connector 10 and a mating connector (not shown) are mated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 does not have to be a part of the terminal accommodating portion 210. More specifically, in the present invention, the housing 20 is not essential, and the terminal 30 does not have to be accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 210. Even in such a case, the connector 10 has the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 that accommodates the mating terminal along the front-rear direction.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 5, the terminal 30 has a plurality of spring portions 310 , a linking portion 320 , and a connecting portion 330 .

[0021] 3 and 4, the connection portion 330 is made up of multiple cylindrical portions with a common central axis. The connection portion 330 includes a portion that is connected to a cable (not shown) and a portion that is held by the housing 20. The linking portion 320 has a cylindrical shape, is located in front of the connection portion 330, and links the spring portions 310 to each other. The spring portions 310 extend forward from the front end of the linking portion 320 in a cantilevered manner.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 6, the spring portions 310 are arranged in a ring shape when viewed from the front. In this embodiment, the number of spring portions 310 is eight. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The number of spring portions 310 may be two or more.

[0023] As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 , in this embodiment, the spring portion 310, the linking portion 320, and the connecting portion 330 are integrally formed. In other words, in this embodiment, the terminal 30 is made of a single member. In this embodiment, the terminal 30 is made of pure copper. A pure copper terminal 30 is suitable for large currents. On the other hand, in order to ensure contact reliability with a mating terminal (not shown), the pure copper terminal 30 requires the spring portion 310 to have a longer length in the front-to-rear direction than terminals made of other materials. Therefore, the pure copper terminal 30 is more likely to undergo plastic deformation than terminals made of other materials. The present invention is particularly effective for a connector 10 including a terminal 30 that is more likely to undergo plastic deformation.

[0024] As can be seen from FIGS. 3 to 5, the shock-preventing pin 40 is attached to the terminal 30.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5 , the electric shock prevention pin 40 has a held portion 410, a pin portion 420, and an insulating tip portion 430. The held portion 410 is a portion held by the terminal 30. The held portion 410 is composed of multiple cylindrical portions sharing a common central axis. The pin portion 420 is composed of a cylinder sharing a common central axis with the held portion 410 and extends forward from the held portion 410. The outer diameter of the pin portion 420 is smaller than the outer diameter of each of the cylindrical portions of the held portion 410. In this embodiment, the pin portion 420 is formed integrally with the held portion 410. The held portion 410 and the pin portion 420 are made of, for example, metal. The insulating tip portion 430 is made of a separate member from the held portion 410 and the pin portion 420 and is attached to the tip of the pin portion 420. In this embodiment, the insulating tip portion 430 is made of insulating resin.

[0026] 3, the insulating tip portion 430 of the shock prevention pin 40 is located inside the terminal accommodating portion 210. The insulating tip portion 430 is located further forward in the front-to-rear direction than the tip of the spring portion 310 of the terminal 30. In other words, the insulating tip portion 430 is farther from the connecting portion 320 than the tip of the spring portion 310 of the terminal 30. With this configuration, the shock prevention pin 40 prevents the user's finger from entering the opening of the terminal accommodating portion 210, thereby preventing the user's finger from coming into contact with the spring portion 310 of the terminal 30.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the electric shock prevention pin 40 further has a thick portion 440. The thick portion 440 is a portion that functions as the restricting member 50. In other words, in this embodiment, the restricting member 50 is provided integrally with the electric shock prevention pin 40, and the electric shock prevention pin 40 functions as the restricting member 50. However, as described above, the electric shock prevention pin 40 is not essential to the present invention. Therefore, if the terminal 30 does not have the electric shock prevention pin 40, the restricting member 50 is attached to the terminal 30 as a single member.

[0028] 6 to 8, each spring portion 310 is provided with a contact point 312 and a regulated portion 314. The contact point 312 is located near the tip of the spring portion 310. The regulated portion 314 is located between the contact point 312 and the connecting portion 320. The contact point 312 is a portion that comes into contact with a mating terminal (not shown) when the connector 10 is mated with the mating connector (not shown). The regulated portion 314 is a portion that can come into contact with the regulating member 50 when the spring portion 310 is deformed when the connector 10 is not mated with the mating connector (not shown).

[0029] As can be seen from FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, the spring portion 310 of the terminal 30 is located outside the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the spring portion 310 is arranged to surround the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. In other words, in this embodiment, the spring portion 310 partially defines the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. In either case, the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 is located inside the spring portion 310 in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the connector 10 and a mating connector (not shown) are mated, the spring portion 310 of the terminal 30 contacts the mating terminal (not shown) from outside the mating terminal in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0030] 7, when the spring portion 310 is deformed so that the tip of the spring portion 310 moves inward in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, the regulated portion 314 abuts against the regulating portion 510 of the regulating member 50. In this way, the regulating member 50 has the regulating portion 510 against which the regulated portion 314 abuts.

[0031] 8, the restricting portions 510 of the restricting member 50 are located within the mating terminal accommodating portion 110 of the connector 10 and face all of the spring portions 310 in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction. When the spring portions 310 deform inward in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, the restricting portions 510 of the restricting member 50 abut against the restricted portions 314 of the spring portions 310. In this way, the restricting portions 510 restrict excessive movement of the restricted portions 314 of the spring portions 310 toward the inside of the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. This prevents plastic deformation of the spring portions 310.

[0032] The position of the restricted portion 314 of the spring portion 310 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . To prevent inward plastic deformation of the spring portion 310 in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, it is preferable that the restricted portion 314 be closer to the tip of the spring portion 310 in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, it is preferable that the restricting member 50 be located farther from the tip of the spring portion 310 in the front-rear direction so as not to obstruct the entry of a mating terminal (not shown). Taking these points into consideration, the restricted portion 314 is provided outside a predetermined region set on the spring portion 310. More specifically, the spring portion 310 has a predetermined region that expands from the connecting portion 320 toward the tip of the spring portion 310 and occupies at least 10% of the entire length of the spring portion 310. Preferably, the predetermined region of the spring portion 310 occupies at least 20% of the entire length of the spring portion 310. The restricted portion 314 is provided outside the predetermined region of the spring portion 310. In other words, the regulated portion 314 is provided in front of a predetermined region of the spring portion 310 in the front-rear direction. This makes it possible to reliably prevent plastic deformation of the spring portion 310 without interfering with the mating operation of the connector 10 and the mating connector (not shown).

[0033] The present invention has been described above by presenting an embodiment thereof, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0034] For example, the present invention is not limited to a charging connector, but can also be applied to connectors other than charging connectors.

[0035] In addition, in the present invention, the shape of the restricting member 50 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and various shapes can be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a restricting member 50A consisting of multiple protrusions 450 may be used. The restricting member 50A is formed integrally with the electric shock prevention pin 40A. As can be seen from FIGS. 10 and 11, the multiple protrusions 450 correspond to the spring portions 310, respectively, and each protrusion 450 has a restricting portion 510. The restricting portion 510 restricts excessive movement of the restricted portion 314 of the spring portion 310 toward the mating terminal accommodating portion 110, thereby preventing plastic deformation of the spring portion 310. However, the electric shock prevention pin 40A has a simpler shape and is easier to manufacture than the electric shock prevention pin 40A.

[0036] In the above embodiment, the position of the restricting portion 510 of the restricting member 50 in the front-rear direction is fixed. However, in the present invention, the restricting member 50 may be provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. For example, the restricting member 50 may be combined with a spring member so that the position of the restricting member 50 in the front-rear direction changes depending on the insertion length of the mating terminal (not shown) into the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. By using such a movable restricting member 50, the position of the restricted portion 314 can be brought closer to the tip of the spring portion 310, and plastic deformation of the spring portion 310 can be more reliably prevented.

[0037] Furthermore, in the present invention, the shape of the terminal 30 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various shapes may be adopted. For example, the connecting portion 320 of the terminal 30 is not limited to a cylinder, but may be a polygonal tube. Furthermore, the connecting portion 320 may have a slit along the front-rear direction, for example, formed by bending a metal plate. Furthermore, the restricted portion 314 may be a protruding portion formed by bending the spring portion 310 and protruding toward the mating terminal accommodating portion 110. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 10 Connectors 110 Mating terminal accommodating section (accommodating section) 20. Housing 210 Terminal housing 30 terminals 310 Spring part 312 Contacts 314 Regulated part 320 Connection part 330 Connection 40, 40A electric shock prevention pin 410 Holding part 420 Pin section 430 Insulated tip 440 Thick 450 Projection part 50, 50A Regulatory Members 510 Regulatory Department

Claims

1. A connector including a terminal and a restricting member, The connector has a receiving portion that receives a mating terminal along a predetermined direction, The terminal has a plurality of spring portions and a connecting portion connecting the spring portions, Each of the spring portions extends from the connecting portion in a cantilever manner, Each of the spring portions is provided with a restricted portion and a contact point that comes into contact with a mating terminal, the restricted portion is located between the contact point and the connecting portion, the spring portion is located outside the accommodation portion in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, The regulating member has a regulating portion, The restricting portion is located within the housing portion and restricts excessive movement of the restricted portion of the spring portion toward the inside of the housing portion. connector.

2. 2. The connector of claim 1, The connector further comprises a housing; the housing has a terminal accommodating portion that opens in the predetermined direction, The terminals are disposed in the terminal accommodating portions and are held by the housing. connector.

3. 3. The connector according to claim 2, The connector is provided with an anti-electric shock pin, The shock prevention pin has an insulating tip, The insulating tip portion is located in the terminal accommodating portion farther from the connecting portion than the tip of the spring portion of the terminal. connector.

4. 4. The connector according to claim 3, The restricting portion is provided on the electric shock prevention pin, The electric shock prevention pin functions as the restricting member. connector.

5. 2. The connector of claim 1, the spring portion has a predetermined region that extends from the connecting portion toward the tip of the spring portion and occupies at least 10% of the entire length of the spring portion; The restricted portion is provided outside the predetermined region of the spring portion. connector.

6. 6. The connector of claim 5, The predetermined area occupies at least 20% of the total length of the spring portion. connector.

7. 2. The connector of claim 1, The position of the restriction portion in the predetermined direction is fixed. connector.

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