male connector

Abstract

To provide a male connector capable of preventing short circuits caused by thread burrs and narrowing the pitch between terminals. [Solution] The male terminal (2) has a rod-shaped portion (20), a pair of first protrusions (21), and a pair of second protrusions (22). The male housing (3) surrounds one longitudinal end of the male terminal (2) and has a tubular portion that receives a mating connector, and a terminal holding portion (32) that holds the male terminal (2). The terminal insertion hole (32) has a press-fit portion (32c) into which the portion of the male terminal (2) where the pair of first protrusions (21) and the pair of second protrusions (22) are formed is press-fitted, and a accommodating portion (32b) that is formed closer to the tubular portion than the press-fit portion (32c) and has a larger cross-sectional area than the press-fit portion (32c). A gap is provided between the inner surface of the accommodating portion (32b) and the male terminal (2) to accommodate burrs that may occur when the male terminal (2) is press-fitted.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a male connector including a male terminal and a male housing. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a conventional male connector is shown in Fig. 5 (see Patent Document 1). The male connector shown in Fig. 5 includes a plurality of male terminals 505 and a connector housing 503 that holds the plurality of male terminals 505.

[0003] The connector housing 503 is formed with a plurality of terminal insertion holes 537 and press-fit shoulder accommodating portions 539 continuous with the terminal insertion holes 537. The terminal insertion holes 537 are formed surrounded by press-fit retaining wall portions 540. A deflection allowance portion 541 is formed between the press-fit retaining wall portions 540 of adjacent terminal insertion holes 537. A press-fit retaining portion 553 of a male terminal 505 is press-fitted into the terminal insertion holes 537. A press-fit shoulder portion 552 of the male terminal 505 is press-fitted into the press-fit shoulder accommodating portion 539.

[0004] In the above connector, when press-fit holding portion 553 of male terminal 505 is press-fitted into terminal insertion hole 537, press-fit holding wall 540 bends toward deflection-permitting portion 541. This reduces the friction between press-fit holding portion 553 and press-fit holding wall 540, preventing the plating formed on the surface of male terminal 505 from peeling off and preventing the occurrence of burrs. Burrs can cause short circuits. After press-fitting, press-fit holding wall 540 elastically returns to its original shape and bites into press-fit holding portion 553. This allows press-fit holding portion 553 to be held by press-fit holding wall 540. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-235772 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the above-described conventional connector, forming a flexure-permitting portion 541 in connector housing 503 can prevent the occurrence of thread burrs caused by plating peeling off of male terminals 505 during assembly. However, this connector has a problem in that the pitch between terminals becomes large because connector housing 503 has flexure-permitting portion 541.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a male connector that can prevent short circuits caused by thread burrs and that allows for a narrower pitch between terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a male connector comprising a male terminal and a male housing, wherein the male terminal has a protrusion formed thereon that protrudes in the width direction of the male terminal, the male housing having a tubular portion that surrounds one longitudinal end of the male terminal and receives a mating connector, and a terminal holding portion that holds the male terminal, the terminal holding portion having a terminal insertion hole that opens to the tubular portion side and the opposite side and through which the male terminal is inserted, the terminal insertion hole having a press-fit portion into which the portion of the male terminal on which the protrusion is formed is pressed, and a accommodating portion that is formed on the tubular portion side of the press-fit portion and has a cross-sectional area larger than that of the press-fit portion, and wherein a gap is provided between the inner surface of the accommodating portion and the male terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a male connector that can prevent short circuits caused by thread burrs and that allows the pitch between terminals to be narrowed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a male connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the male connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional male connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A "male connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] 1 to 4 mates with a mating female connector. Male connector 1 includes a plurality of male terminals 2 and a male housing 3. With regard to male connector 1, the side of the female connector in the mating direction with the female connector is referred to as the "front" and the opposite side as the "rear."

[0013] The male terminal 2 is obtained by plating the surface of a metal base material with tin or the like. The male terminal 2 has a rod-shaped portion 20 extending straight over its entire length, and a pair of first protrusions 21 and a pair of second protrusions 22 protruding from both widthwise ends of the rod-shaped portion 20 at a longitudinal intermediate portion 20c of the rod-shaped portion 20.

[0014] The "width direction of the rod-shaped portion 20 (also the width direction of the male terminals 2)" is a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped portion 20, and is the direction in which the multiple male terminals 2 in the male connector 1 are arranged.

[0015] The rod-shaped portion 20 has a uniform cross-sectional area along its entire length (excluding the tapered portions at one end and the other end). The "cross-sectional area" is the area of ​​a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped portion 20. One longitudinal end 20a of the rod-shaped portion 20 is positioned inside the male housing 3 and is electrically connected to a female terminal of the female connector. The other longitudinal end 20b of the rod-shaped portion 20 is positioned outside the male housing 3 and is electrically connected to a circuit board or the like.

[0016] The pair of first protrusions 21 and the pair of second protrusions 22 are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped portion 20. The pair of first protrusions 21 are located closer to the other end 20b than the pair of second protrusions 22 in the intermediate portion 20c of the rod-shaped portion 20. The pair of second protrusions 22 are located closer to the one end 20a than the pair of first protrusions 21 in the intermediate portion 20c of the rod-shaped portion 20. The protrusion length of the second protrusions 22 from the rod-shaped portion 20 is formed to be greater than the protrusion length of the first protrusions 21 from the rod-shaped portion 20.

[0017] The cross-sectional area of ​​the male terminal 2 in its longitudinal direction is largest at the portion where the pair of second protrusions 22 are formed, followed by the portion where the pair of first protrusions 21 are formed. The cross-sectional area of ​​the other portions is uniform (excluding the tapered portions at one end and the other end). The "cross-sectional area" is the area of ​​a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the male terminal 2.

[0018] The male housing 3 is made of insulating synthetic resin and integrally includes a cylindrical portion 33, a terminal holding portion 31, and a pair of fixing portions 35 that are fixed to a circuit board or the like with screws.

[0019] 1 and 3, the cylindrical portion 33 surrounds one end 20a of the male terminal 2. The cylindrical portion 33 receives a female connector from an opening on the front side.

[0020] The terminal holding portion 31 is a portion that holds a plurality of male terminals 2. The terminal holding portion 31 closes the opening on the rear side of the tubular portion 33. The terminal holding portion 31 has a plurality of terminal insertion holes 32 through which the male terminals 2 are inserted. The plurality of terminal insertion holes 32 are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the connector fitting direction. Each terminal insertion hole 32 opens to a front end face 31a and a rear end face 31b of the terminal holding portion 31. That is, each terminal insertion hole 32 opens to the tubular portion 33 side (front side) and the opposite side (rear side).

[0021] The male terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 32 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. That is, the male terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 32 from the front end face 31a of the terminal holding part 31 with the other end 20b of the rod-shaped part 20 leading, and the other end 20b of the rod-shaped part 20 protrudes out of the terminal insertion hole 32 from the rear end face 31b.

[0022] 4, each terminal insertion hole 32 is composed of a guide portion 32a, a housing portion 32b, and a press-fit portion 32c. The guide portion 32a, the housing portion 32b, and the press-fit portion 32c are arranged in this order from the front end face 31a of the terminal holding portion 31 toward the rear end face 31b.

[0023] The guide portion 32a is formed so that its cross-sectional area (area of ​​a cross section perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction) gradually decreases from the front end face 31a toward the rear end face 31b, that is, from the tubular portion 33 side (front side) toward the accommodation portion 32b side (rear side). When the male terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 32, the guide portion 32a guides the male terminal 2 positioned in the space within the tubular portion 33 into the terminal insertion hole 32.

[0024] The accommodation portion 32b is continuous with the guide portion 32a and extends toward the rear end surface 31b. The accommodation portion 32b has a uniform cross-sectional area (the area of ​​a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction) throughout the entire area in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the accommodation portion 32b accommodates only the portion of the male terminal 2 where the pair of first protrusions 21 and the pair of second protrusions 22 are not formed, i.e., only the rod-shaped portion 20. A gap is provided between the inner surface of the accommodation portion 32b and the rod-shaped portion 20.

[0025] The press-fit portion 32c is continuous with the accommodating portion 32b and extends to the rear end surface 31b. The press-fit portion 32c has a uniform cross-sectional area (the area of ​​a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction) over the entire area in the front-rear direction. The cross-sectional area of ​​the press-fit portion 32c is smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the accommodating portion 32b. As shown in FIG. 4, a portion of the male terminal 2 where the pair of first protrusions 21 and the pair of second protrusions 22 are formed is press-fitted into the press-fit portion 32c. This allows the male terminal 2 to be held in the terminal holding portion 31.

[0026] When the male terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 32, it passes smoothly through the accommodating portion 32b. The pair of first protrusions 21 and the pair of second protrusions 22 then come into contact with the inner surface of the press-fit portion 32c and are scraped off, generating burrs. At this time, resin residue is generated on the male housing 3 side. If the generated resin residue or burrs are long enough to fit into the accommodating portion 32b, they remain in the accommodating portion 32b and do not extend beyond the front end surface 31a of the terminal holding portion 31. In other words, they do not extend outside the terminal insertion hole 32. If the resin residue or burrs are too long to fit into the accommodating portion 32b, they are discovered and removed during product inspection. This prevents short circuits caused by burrs.

[0027] Such a male connector 1 does not require the formation of a deflection-tolerant portion 541 between the press-fit retaining wall portions 540 of adjacent terminal insertion holes 537, as in conventional connectors (see Figure 5), and therefore makes it possible to narrow the pitch between terminals.

[0028] Furthermore, in the male connector 1, the second protrusion 22, which has a longer protrusion length, is positioned closer to the accommodating portion 32b than the first protrusion 21. As a result, when the male terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 32, the first protrusion 21 is first press-fitted into the press-fit portion 32c, and then the second protrusion 22 is press-fitted in such a way as to further expand the area through which the first protrusion 21 has passed. Therefore, the insertion of the male terminal 2 can be made smoother than if the first protrusion 21 were not formed.

[0029] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 male connector 2 male terminals 3 Male Housing 21 1st protrusion (protrusion) 22 Second protrusion (protrusion) 31 Terminal holding part 32 Terminal insertion hole 32a Guide part 32b Storage section 32c press-fit part 33 Cylinder part

Claims

1. A male terminal and a male housing are provided. The male terminal has a protrusion formed thereon that protrudes in a width direction of the male terminal, The male housing includes a cylindrical portion that surrounds one longitudinal end of the male terminal and receives a mating connector, and a terminal holding portion that holds the male terminal, the terminal holding portion has a terminal insertion hole that opens to the cylindrical portion side and the opposite side and through which the male terminal is inserted, the terminal insertion hole has a press-fitting portion into which the portion of the male terminal on which the protrusion is formed is press-fitted, and an accommodating portion formed closer to the cylindrical portion than the press-fitting portion and having a larger cross-sectional area than the press-fitting portion, A gap is provided between the inner surface of the accommodating portion and the male terminal. A male connector characterized by:

2. The terminal insertion hole is formed closer to the cylindrical portion than the accommodating portion, and has a guide portion formed so that the cross-sectional area gradually decreases from the cylindrical portion side toward the accommodating portion side.

2. The male connector according to claim 1.

3. The male terminal has a first protruding portion and a second protruding portion as the protruding portion, the second protrusion is positioned closer to the housing portion than the first protrusion, The second protrusion has a length greater than that of the first protrusion.

2. The male connector according to claim 1.

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