connector

Abstract

This connector provides a mechanism to prevent people from touching the contact points of the clip terminals with their fingers. [Solution] The connector 1 comprises a first housing 10 having a clip terminal 20 including a pair of opposing clamping pieces 22, and a second housing 30 having a plate-shaped terminal 40 that the clamping pieces 22 contact. The first housing 10 has a protective wall portion 16 positioned between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22. By forming the protective wall portion 16 between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22, the opening G is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a connector, there is known one including a first housing having clip terminals including a pair of opposing clamping pieces, and a second housing having plate-like terminals with which the clamping pieces come into contact (see Patent Document 1). In such a connector, for example, a pair of plate-like terminals are inserted between a pair of clamping pieces and clamped, so that the pair of plate-like terminals are electrically connected to the clip terminals.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a vehicle, as the vehicle is electrified, a larger current flows through the connector. Along with this increase in current, particularly when the plate thickness of the plate-like terminal is set to be thick, it is necessary to make the width for inserting the plate-like terminal on the first housing side larger. Therefore, when the width for inserting the plate-like terminal on the first housing side is made larger, in the first housing, there is a possibility that an operator or the like may touch the contact portion of the clip terminal with a finger through the width.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art. And an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of suppressing touching the contact portion of the clip terminal with a finger.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A connector according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a first housing having a clip terminal including a pair of opposing clamping pieces, and a second housing having a plate-shaped terminal to which the clamping pieces make contact, wherein the first housing has a protective wall portion disposed between the contact portions of the pair of clamping pieces. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector that can prevent people from touching the contact parts of the clip terminals with their fingers. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing an example of the first housing of the connector according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing an example of a second housing for the connector according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the clip terminals on the first housing. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of the plate-shaped terminal on the second housing. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view of the first housing with the second housing removed. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional view of the first housing showing the second housing fitted into place. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The connector according to this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0010] The connector 1 according to this embodiment can be used, for example, as a service plug for a power circuit interrupter mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the first housing 10 of the connector 1 according to this embodiment, viewed from the opening side. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the second housing 30 of the connector 1 according to this embodiment, viewed from the opening side.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector 1 comprises a first housing 10 having a first housing body 11 made of synthetic resin, and a second housing 30 having a second housing body 31 made of synthetic resin.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the first housing body 11 of the first housing 10 has a terminal housing cylinder portion 12 that opens in the direction of fitting the first housing 10 and the second housing 30. The inner surface of the first housing body 11 has a terminal pressing portion 13 for pressing the clip terminal 20, which will be described later (see Figures 5 and 6). The first housing body 11 also has a terminal holding portion 14 that holds the clip terminal 20 at a distance from the terminal pressing portion 13 (see Figures 5 and 6). Furthermore, the first housing body 11 has a pair of protrusions 15 formed at the opening end of the terminal housing cylinder portion 12, which protrude in opposing directions. In addition, the first housing body 11 is provided with a sliding member 50 that is slidably supported by the first housing body 11 and is used to fit the first housing 10 to and from the second housing 30.

[0014] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the clip terminal 20 provided on the first housing 10.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the clip terminal 20 is formed in a U-shape from a conductive metal plate and has a ceiling piece 21 and a pair of clamping pieces 22 that extend downward from both ends of the ceiling piece 21 in opposition to each other. Each of these clamping pieces 22 has a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of contact springs 23 at both ends, and these contact springs 23 are formed via slits 24. The contact springs 23 contact the contact projection 41 of the plate-shaped terminal 40, which will be described later, and have a bent portion 25 at the tip. Such a clip terminal 20 is a female high-voltage terminal that connects to a male plate-shaped terminal 40 which is a high-voltage terminal.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the second housing body 31 of the second housing 30 has a substantially plate-shaped main body portion 32 and a square tube-shaped hood portion 33 for fitting and detaching the first housing 10. A substantially rectangular terminal mounting plate 34 protrudes into the hood portion 33 from the main body portion 32 of the second housing body 31. Plate-shaped terminals 40 are attached to both surfaces of each terminal mounting plate 34 via locking lances 35 (see FIG. 6).

[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the plate-shaped terminal 40 included in the second housing 30.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4, the plate-shaped terminal 40 is formed in a flat plate shape from a conductive metal plate and has a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of contact protrusions 41. Further, the plate-shaped terminal 40 has, for example, a stud bolt portion 42 that is electrically connected to an in-vehicle high-voltage battery or an in-vehicle circuit, and an engagement hole portion 43 that engages with the locking lance 35.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first housing 10 showing the state where the second housing 30 is removed. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first housing 10 showing the state where the second housing 30 is fitted.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the first housing body 11 of the first housing 1 has a protective wall portion 16 disposed between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22 in the clip terminal 20. This protective wall portion 16 extends from the terminal holding portion 14 toward the opening end side of the terminal housing cylinder portion 12 along the fitting direction of the first housing 1 and the second housing 30, and the tip side portion 17 is located between the pair of protrusions 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the protective wall portion 16 may be divided into a plurality (two in the illustrated example) and arranged. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, tapered portions 18 that are configured to have a smaller width toward the tip side portion 17 and have a tapered shape may be formed on both surfaces of the protective wall portion 16.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 5, since the protection wall portion 16 is formed between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22, the frontage G can be made smaller (narrower), and it is possible to prevent a finger from entering the inside of the terminal accommodation cylinder portion 12 from this frontage G. For this reason, it is possible to suppress deformation of the clip terminal 20 caused by the entry of a finger, adhesion of finger fat or foreign matter to the clip terminal 20, an increase in the contact resistance of the contact spring 23 due to adhesion of finger fat or foreign matter, and the like.

[0022] On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the terminal mounting plate 34 of the second housing 30 has an accommodation recess 36 in which the protection wall portion 16 is accommodated when the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 are fitted together. As shown in Fig. 2, the accommodation recess 36 may be formed in a plurality (two in the illustrated example). Further, by forming the accommodation recess 36 in the terminal mounting plate 34, this terminal mounting plate 34 is constituted by two divided plates 34a. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6, tapered surfaces 37 having a groove width that becomes larger toward the front end side of the terminal mounting plate 34 and having a flared shape may be formed on both side wall surfaces of the accommodation recess 36.

[0023] The fitting direction of the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 is the direction of arrow F, and by inserting the terminal accommodation cylinder portion 12 into the hood portion 33 along this direction of arrow F, the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 are fitted together.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 6, when the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 are fitted together, the protection wall portion 16 located between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22 is accommodated in the gap (accommodation recess 36) between the two divided plates 34a. By forming the accommodation recess 36 in the terminal mounting plate 34 in this way, the protection wall portion 16 does not interfere with the fitting of the first housing 10 and the second housing 30, and the fitting of the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 can be made smooth.

[0025] As described above, the connector 1 according to this embodiment comprises a first housing 10 having a clip terminal 20 including a pair of opposing clamping pieces 22, and a second housing 30 having a plate-shaped terminal 40 in contact with the clamping pieces 22. The first housing 10 has a protective wall portion 16 positioned between the contact portions (contact springs 23) of the pair of clamping pieces 22.

[0026] In this embodiment, a protective wall portion 16 is formed between the contact springs 23 of the pair of clamping pieces 22, which makes the opening G smaller (narrower) and prevents fingers from entering the inside of the terminal housing cylinder portion 12 through this opening G. In other words, in this embodiment, the gap between the protruding portion 15 and the protective wall portion 16 constitutes the opening G for inserting the plate-shaped terminal 40 on the first housing 10 side. This opening G only needs to be the thickness of one plate-shaped terminal 40 and one divided plate 34a, and can be made smaller compared to conventional products.

[0027] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a connector 1 that can prevent the user from touching the contact portion (contact spring 23) of the clip terminal 20 with their fingers.

[0028] In connector 1, the first housing 10 has a terminal housing cylinder portion 12 that opens in the direction of fitting the first housing 10 and the second housing 30, and a pair of protrusions 15 projecting in opposing directions may be formed at the opening end of the terminal housing cylinder portion 12. A part of the protective wall portion 16 may be located between the pair of protrusions 15.

[0029] In this embodiment, the tip portion 17 of the protective wall portion 16 is positioned between the pair of protruding portions 15, which makes the opening G smaller (narrower), and prevents fingers from entering the inside of the terminal housing cylinder portion 12 through this opening G.

[0030] In connector 1, the second housing 30 may have a terminal mounting portion (terminal mounting plate 34) to which a plate-shaped terminal 40 is attached. The terminal mounting portion (terminal mounting plate 34) may have a receiving recess 36 formed therein, which accommodates the protective wall portion 16 when the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 are fitted together.

[0031] In this embodiment, the terminal mounting plate 34 has a receiving recess 36 that accommodates the protective wall portion 16. When the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 are fitted together, the protective wall portion 16 is accommodated in the receiving recess 36. By forming the terminal mounting plate 34 in this manner, the protective wall portion 16 does not hinder the fitting of the first housing 10 and the second housing 30, and the fitting of the first housing 10 and the second housing 30 can be made smooth.

[0032] Although this embodiment has been described above, this embodiment is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of this embodiment. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0033] 1 Connector 10 Housing 1 12 Terminal housing cylinder 15 Protrusion 16 Protective wall 20 clip terminals 22 Clamping piece 23 Contact spring 30 Second Housing 34 Terminal mounting plate 36 Receiving recess 40 Plate-shaped terminals F Fitting direction G Frontage

Claims

1. A first housing having a clip terminal including a pair of opposing clamping pieces, The second housing comprises a plate-shaped terminal that the clamping piece contacts, The first housing has a protective wall portion positioned between the contact portions of the pair of clamping pieces. connector.

2. The first housing has a terminal housing cylinder portion that opens in the direction of fitting the first housing and the second housing, The opening end of the terminal housing cylinder is formed with a pair of protrusions projecting in opposing directions. A portion of the protective wall is located between the pair of protrusions. The connector according to claim 1.

3. The second housing has a terminal mounting portion to which the plate-shaped terminal is attached, The terminal mounting portion has a receiving recess formed therein, in which the protective wall portion is accommodated when the first housing and the second housing are fitted together. The connector according to claim 1 or 2.

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