Connector

Abstract

To bring an electric wire into pressure-contact with a pressure-contact terminal by mounting an electric wire cover to a housing.SOLUTION: A connector 10 comprises a pressure-contact terminal 30 with which an electric wire W is brought into pressure-contact, a housing 20 into which the pressure-contact terminal 30 is inserted from a rear side, and an electric wire cover 40 which is mounted to a rear end portion of the housing 20, and the electric wire cover 40 includes a pressing part 44A which is mounted to the housing 20 from the rear side, thereby pushing in the electric wire W forward and bringing it into pressure-contact with the pressure-contact terminal 30. First, the pressure contact-terminal 30 is inserted into the housing 20 from the rear side. Next, the electric wire W is set behind the pressure-contact terminal 30, and the electric wire cover 40 is mounted to the housing 20 from the rear side. At such a time, the pressing part 44A of the electric wire cover 40 pushes in the electric wire W forward and brings it into pressure-contact with the pressure-contact terminal 30. Therefore, the electric wire cover 40 is mounted to the housing 20, thereby bringing the electric wire W into pressure-contact with the pressure-contact terminal 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors. [Background technology]

[0002] A known connector equipped with a wire cover is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2023-10275 (Patent Document 1 below). The connector includes a housing made of synthetic resin and a plurality of female terminals held within the housing in a state connected to the ends of the electric wires. The wire cover is attached to the rear end of the housing so as to cover the plurality of electric wires drawn rearward from the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-10275 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when it is necessary to pull the electric wire downward from the rear end of the housing due to reasons such as insufficient space for pulling the electric wire out from the rear of the housing, it is possible to use a crimp terminal instead of a female terminal. In this case, the electric wire is crimped onto the crimp terminal, and then the crimp terminal is inserted into the housing. However, because the position of the crimp terminal around the electric wire is determined at the time of crimping, it can be difficult to insert the crimp terminal into the housing. For this reason, it is desirable to crimp the electric wire onto the crimp terminal after inserting it into the housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The connector of the present disclosure comprises a crimping terminal to which an electric wire is crimped, a housing into which the crimping terminal is inserted from the rear, and a wire cover attached to the rear end of the housing, wherein the wire cover has a pressing portion that is attached to the housing from the rear and pushes the electric wire forward to crimp it onto the crimping terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, by attaching the wire cover to the housing, the wire can be crimped onto the crimp terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a left rear perspective view of the connector. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a right rear perspective view of the connector. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wire cover. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a top view of a connector with a wire cover filled with resin. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a side view of a connector in which the wire cover is filled with resin. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along CC in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. [1] The connector of the present disclosure comprises a crimping terminal to which an electric wire is crimped, a housing into which the crimping terminal is inserted from the rear, and a wire cover attached to the rear end of the housing, the wire cover having a pressing portion that is attached to the housing from the rear to push the electric wire forward and crimp it onto the crimping terminal.

[0009] The connector is assembled as follows: First, insert the insulation displacement terminal into the housing from the rear. Next, place the wire behind the insulation displacement terminal, and attach the wire cover to the housing from the rear. At this time, the pressing part of the wire cover pushes the wire forward, crimping it onto the insulation displacement terminal. Therefore, by attaching the wire cover to the housing, the wire can be crimped onto the insulation displacement terminal.

[0010] [2] In the connector described in [1], it is preferable that the wire cover has a temporary holding portion that temporarily holds the wire by pressing a portion different from the pressed portion that is pressed by the pressing portion when the wire is crimped. When the wire cover is attached to the rear end of the housing, the wires are pressed against the pressing portion and temporarily held in place by the temporary holding portion, so that the wires can be temporarily held in place so as not to move when, for example, filling the wire cover with resin.

[0011] [Details of the embodiments of the present disclosure] The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. In the drawings, for the sake of convenience, some components may be exaggerated or simplified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios of the components may differ between drawings. In this specification, "orthogonal" does not only refer to a strict orthogonal relationship, but also includes a roughly orthogonal relationship within the scope of the operation and effect of the present embodiment.

[0012] In addition, "facing" in this specification refers to surfaces or components facing each other, and includes not only cases where they are completely facing each other, but also cases where they are partially facing each other. In addition, "facing" in this specification includes both cases where a component separate from the two components is interposed between the two components, and cases where nothing is interposed between the two components.

[0013] <Embodiment> An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 10. In the following description, the direction indicated by arrow Z is defined as upward, the direction indicated by arrow X as forward, and the direction indicated by arrow Y as leftward. Note that, for multiple identical components, only some of the components may be designated by reference numerals, and the reference numerals for the other components may be omitted.

[0014] (Connector 10) The connector 10 of this embodiment is a connector used, for example, to connect electric wires routed inside an automobile. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the connector 10 includes a housing 20, insulation displacement terminals 30 to which electric wires W are pressure-welded, and an electric wire cover 40 attached to the rear end of the housing 20.

[0015] The housing 20 is made of synthetic resin and has a generally rectangular block shape. The housing 20 has a cavity 21 for accommodating the insulation displacement terminal 30 therein. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the cavity 21 is formed to penetrate in the front-to-rear direction. The insulation displacement terminal 30 is inserted into the cavity 21 from the rear. The cavities 21 are provided in two locations, an upper section on the front side and a lower section on the back side in Figure 3.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 3, the insulation displacement terminal 30 includes a pair of first clamping pieces 31, a pair of second clamping pieces 32, and a connecting portion 33 connecting the first clamping pieces 31 and the second clamping pieces 32. In the insulation displacement terminal 30 inserted into the cavity 21 on the upper front side in Fig. 3, the pair of first clamping pieces 31 are arranged on the upper side, and in the insulation displacement terminal 30 inserted into the cavity 21 on the lower rear side in the figure, the pair of first clamping pieces 31 are arranged on the lower side. The material of the insulation displacement terminal 30 can be a metal such as copper or a copper alloy.

[0017] In the insulation displacement terminal 30, the electric wire W is crimped at two locations: between a pair of first clamping pieces 31 and between a pair of second clamping pieces 32. The electric wire W is a well-known coated electric wire configured by covering the periphery of a core wire W1 with a coating W2. The core wire W1 is, for example, a stranded wire configured by twisting together conductive metal wires. Note that the core wire W1 may also be a solid wire made of a single metal wire. The material of the core wire W1 can be metal such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. Meanwhile, the coating W2 is made of insulating resin.

[0018] When the electric wire W is pushed into the insulation displacement terminal 30 from behind, the pair of first clamping pieces 31 cuts the coating W2 and presses the core wire W1 into contact. Subsequently, the pair of second clamping pieces 32 cuts the coating W2 and presses the core wire W1 into contact. This electrically connects the electric wire W and the insulation displacement terminal 30. The clamping pieces 31, 32 of the insulation displacement terminal 30 are arranged to protrude rearward from the housing 20 when the insulation displacement terminal 30 is accommodated in the cavity 21.

[0019] The rear end of the housing 20 is formed with a rear surface 20A and a base 22 that protrudes rearward from the rear surface 20A. The cavity 21 opens rearward at the rear surface 22A of the base 22. The electric wires W that are crimped to the clamping pieces 31, 32 extend downward along the rear surface 22A of the base 22. A pair of locking projections 23 are formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the base 22.

[0020] (wire cover 40) The wire cover 40 is made of synthetic resin and has a box shape that opens forward. As shown in Fig. 4, the wire cover 40 includes a first wall portion 41 having a wire insertion hole 41A through which the wire W passes, a second wall portion 42 that rises upward from the left edge of the first wall portion 41, a third wall portion 43 that rises upward from the right edge of the first wall portion 41, a fourth wall portion 44 that rises upward from the rear edge of the first wall portion 41, and a fifth wall portion 45 that faces the first wall portion 41 in the vertical direction.

[0021] 5, when the wire cover 40 is attached to the rear end of the housing 20, the front edge 41B of the first wall portion 41 is disposed so as to contact the rear surface 22A of the base 22. As a result, the front end opening of the wire insertion hole 41A, through which the wire W is inserted in the vertical direction, is closed by the rear surface 22A of the base 22. The rear surface 22A of the base 22 prevents the wire W inserted into the wire insertion hole 41A from coming out of the wire insertion hole 41A in the forward direction.

[0022] A pair of locking holes 42A, 43A are formed in the second wall portion 42 and the third wall portion 43. When the wire cover 40 is attached to the rear end portion of the housing 20, the pair of locking protrusions 23 fit into and lock into the pair of locking holes 42A, 43A from the inside. This allows the wire cover 40 to be held at the rear end portion of the housing 20.

[0023] An injection port 43B is formed in the third wall portion 43 at a position closer to the fifth wall portion 45. The injection port 43B is an opening for injecting the resin 50 before hardening when filling the resin 50 inside the wire cover 40. A method for filling the resin 50 will be described later.

[0024] A pair of pressing portions 44A and a pair of temporary holding portions 44B are formed on the front surface of the fourth wall portion 44, protruding forward. The pair of pressing portions 44A are arranged at the lower left and upper right when viewed from the front, and the pair of temporary holding portions 44B are arranged at the upper left and lower right when viewed from the front. Both the pressing portion 44A and the temporary holding portion 44B are rectangular when viewed from the front. The temporary holding portions 44B are formed larger than the pressing portion 44A.

[0025] The portion of the electric wire W pressed by the pressing portion 44A is a first pressed portion W21, and the portion pressed by the temporary holding portion 44B is a second pressed portion W22. The first pressed portion W21 and the second pressed portion W22 are disposed at different positions. The second pressed portion W22 is disposed at a position adjacent to the first pressed portion W21 in the vertical direction.

[0026] When the electric wires W are set behind the insulation displacement terminals 30 and the wire cover 40 is attached to the rear end of the housing 20, the pressing portion 44A presses the first pressed portion W21 of the electric wire W forward, thereby pressing the core wire W1 against the insulation displacement terminal 30, and the temporary holding portion 44B presses the second pressed portion W22 of the electric wire W forward, thereby sandwiching and temporarily holding the electric wire W between the temporary holding portion 44B and the rear surface 22A of the base 22. Therefore, the pair of electric wires W are collectively pressure-welded to the pair of insulation displacement terminals 30. At the same time, the pair of locking protrusions 23 are engaged with the hole edges of the pair of locking holes 42A, 43A, thereby holding the wire cover 40 at the rear end of the housing 20 (see FIG. 10).

[0027] (Resin 50 filling method) When filling the interior of the wire cover 40 with resin 50, the connector 10 with the wire cover 40 attached is placed upside down, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 . In this manner, the injection port 43B is located below the wire cover 40. An extractor nozzle of a dispenser (not shown) or the like is inserted into the injection port 43B, and uncured resin 50 is injected into the interior of the wire cover 40. The resin 50 is injected from the bottom of the wire cover 40 upwards. When the resin 50 is completely filled, the resin 50 becomes visible through the wire insertion hole 41A, as shown in FIG. 5 , indicating that filling is complete. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , while filling the resin 50, the wire W is temporarily held by the temporary holding portion 44B, preventing the wire W from moving due to the pressure of the resin 50. The resin 50 seals the interior of the connector 10 from the outside.

[0028] (Effects of this embodiment) The connector 10 of this embodiment comprises a crimping terminal 30 to which an electric wire W is crimped, a housing 20 into which the crimping terminal 30 is inserted from the rear, and a wire cover 40 attached to the rear end of the housing 20, and the wire cover 40 has a pressing portion 44A that is attached to the housing 20 from the rear and pushes the electric wire W forward to crimp it onto the crimping terminal 30.

[0029] The connector 10 is assembled as follows. First, the insulation displacement terminals 30 are inserted into the housing 20 from the rear. Next, the electric wires W are set behind the insulation displacement terminals 30, and the wire cover 40 is attached to the housing 20 from the rear. At this time, the pressing portions 44A of the wire cover 40 push the electric wires W forward, crimping them onto the insulation displacement terminals 30. Therefore, by attaching the wire cover 40 to the housing 20, the electric wires W can be crimped onto the insulation displacement terminals 30.

[0030] The wire cover 40 has a temporary holding portion 44B that temporarily holds the wire W by pressing a portion W22 different from the pressed portion W21 pressed by the pressing portion 44A when the wire W is pressure-welded. When the wire cover 40 is attached to the rear end of the housing 20, the wires W are pressed by the pressing portions 44A and temporarily held by the temporary holding portions 44B. Therefore, for example, when the resin 50 is filled into the wire cover 40, the wires W can be temporarily held so as not to move.

[0031] (Other embodiments) The above-described embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows: The above-described embodiments can be implemented in combination with each other within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0032] In the above embodiment, a pair of electric wires W is pressure-connected to a pair of pressure-connecting terminals 30, but the number of electric wires W may be one, or three or more.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the wire cover 40 having the temporary holding portion 44B is exemplified, but the wire cover may not have the temporary holding portion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10: Connector 20: Housing 20A: Rear surface 21: Cavity 22: Base 22A: Rear surface 23: Locking protrusion 30: Pressure contact terminal 31: First clamping piece 32: Second clamping piece 33: Connection part 40: Wire cover 41: First wall portion 41A: Wire insertion hole 41B: Front edge 42: Second wall portion 42A: Locking hole 43: Third wall portion 43A: Locking hole 43B: Injection port 44: Fourth wall portion 44A: Pressing portion 44B: Temporary holding portion 45: Fifth wall portion 50: Resin W: Electric wire W1: Core wire W2: Sheath W21: First pressed part W22: Second pressed part

Claims

1. a pressure-displacement terminal to which the electric wire is pressure-displaced; a housing into which the insulation displacement terminal is inserted from the rear; a wire cover attached to a rear end of the housing, The wire cover has a pressing portion that is attached to the housing from behind to push the wires forward and press them into contact with the insulation displacement terminals.

2. The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the wire cover has a temporary holding portion that temporarily holds the wire by pressing a portion different from a pressed portion that is pressed by the pressing portion when the wire is pressure-connected.

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