Terminal cooling device

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a terminal cooling device that suppresses the temperature rise of male terminals over a long period of time when power is applied. [Solution] The terminal cooling device 1 comprises a male terminal 2 inserted into a female terminal 4, a male housing 8 housing the male terminal 2, and a flow passage 25 provided inside the male terminal for circulating a cooling liquid L. The male terminal 2 has an electrical contact portion 23 inserted into the female terminal 4 and an insulating cap 24 provided at the tip of the electrical contact portion 23. The flow passage 25 has a first flow passage 25B and a second flow passage 25D extending in the axial direction of the electrical contact portion 23, and a third flow passage 25C connecting the first flow passage 25B and the second flow passage 25D. The first flow passage 25B and the second flow passage 25D are provided in the electrical contact portion 23, and the third flow passage 25C is provided in the cap 24.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal cooling device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a male connector having a male terminal with a rod-shaped portion and a male housing that houses the male terminal, and a female connector having a female terminal with a cylindrical portion into which the rod-shaped portion of the male terminal is inserted and a female housing that houses the female terminal have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional connector fitting structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the male terminal having a rod-shaped portion generates heat when a large current flows, heat dissipation measures are taken. As heat dissipation measures, in order to suppress the heat generation of the male terminal, measures such as reducing the current value, thickening the electric wire connected to the female terminal to increase the heat dissipation performance, or arranging a heat conductive material around the male terminal can be considered, but it has been difficult to suppress the temperature rise over a long period of time.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal cooling device that suppresses the temperature rise of a male terminal over a long period of time during energization.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objective, the present invention as described in claim 1 is a terminal cooling device comprising: a male terminal inserted into the interior of a female terminal; a male housing housing the male terminal; and a flow passage provided inside the male terminal for circulating a cooling liquid, wherein the male terminal has an electrical contact portion inserted into the interior of the female terminal and an insulating cap provided at the tip of the electrical contact portion; the flow passage has a first flow passage and a second flow passage extending in the axial direction of the electrical contact portion and a third flow passage connecting the first flow passage and the second flow passage, wherein the first flow passage and the second flow passage are provided in the electrical contact portion and the third flow passage is provided in the cap. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the male terminal over a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a cross-sectional view showing a connector structure including a terminal cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a partial cross-section of the connector structure. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing the male terminals that make up the terminal cooling device in a disassembled state. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector structure 10 including a terminal cooling device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a partial cross-section of the connector structure 10 shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the male terminals 2 constituting the terminal cooling device 1 in an exploded view.

[0010] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector structure 10 comprises a terminal cooling device 1 equipped with a male connector 3 having male terminals 2, and a female connector body 5 including female terminals 4 that are mated to the male terminals 2.

[0011] In this embodiment, the mating direction in which the male terminal 2 of the male connector 3 and the female terminal 4 of the female connector body 5 are mated is described as the "front-to-back direction Y (axial direction of the electrical contact part)," the direction in which the pair of male connectors 3, 3 are aligned, which is one of the directions perpendicular to the front-to-back direction Y (radial direction), is described as the "left-to-right direction X," and the other direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction Y (radial direction), which is the direction in which the electric wire W extends, may be described as the "up-down direction Z." In addition, within the front-to-back direction Y, the side of the female connector body 5 as seen from the male connector 3 may be described as the "front Y1," and the opposite side may be described as the "rear Y2."

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the terminal cooling device 1 comprises a pair of male connectors 3, 3, a flange portion 6 that supports the pair of male connectors 3, 3 and is fixed to an object not shown, and a cooling structure 7 (shown in Figure 1) that circulates a cooling liquid L to cool the heat generated when the male terminals 2 in each male connector 3 are energized. In Figure 2, the cooling structure 7 is omitted.

[0013] The pair of male connectors 3, 3 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction X, as shown in Figure 2. Each male connector 3 comprises a male terminal 2 and a male housing 8 having a male terminal housing chamber 80 that accommodates the male terminal 2, as shown in Figure 1.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3, the male terminal 2 comprises a rod-shaped base 21 that is electrically connected to the object to be attached, a flange-shaped portion 22 provided in front of the base 21 Y1 and protruding in a flange shape, an electrical contact portion 23 continuous with the front of the base 21 Y1, an insulating cap 24 (cap) provided at the tip of the electrical contact portion 23 for preventing electric shock, and a flow passage 25 for circulating the coolant L. These base 21, flange-shaped portion 22, and electrical contact portion 23 are integrally constructed with respect to each other and are provided coaxially with respect to each other.

[0015] As shown in Figure 3, the base portion 21 is provided with a larger diameter than the electrical contact portion 23 and is provided coaxially with the electrical contact portion 23.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the electrical contact portion 23 includes a contact portion main body 231 formed in a rod shape extending in the front-rear direction Y, and an attachment portion 233 provided at the rear end portion of the contact portion main body 231 and having a step 232 and a larger diameter than the contact portion main body 231. That is, the attachment portion 233 is provided at the rear end portion of the contact portion main body 231, and an insulating cap 24 described later is provided at the front end portion (tip portion) of the contact portion main body 231.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 3, the insulating cap 24 is provided in a substantially hemispherical shape having a flat surface 241 installed on the front end surface of the contact portion main body 231. A connecting flow passage 25C (third flow passage) that is recessed and communicates the upstream extending flow passage 25B (first flow passage) and the downstream extending flow passage 25D (second flow passage) is provided on this flat surface 241.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3, the flow passage 25 includes an upstream connection flow passage 25A (fourth flow passage) connected to the upper pipe 71 (one of the pair of pipes) that constitutes the cooling structure 7, an upstream extending flow passage 25B (first flow passage), a connecting flow passage 25C (third flow passage), a downstream extending flow passage 25D (second flow passage), and a downstream connection flow passage 25E (fifth flow passage) connected to the lower pipe 72 (the other of the pair of pipes), and is continuously configured with each other.

[0019] In the flow passage 25, the coolant L is configured to circulate in the order of the upstream connection flow passage 25A, the upstream extending flow passage 25B, the connecting flow passage 25C, the downstream extending flow passage 25D, and the downstream connection flow passage 25E.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the upstream connection flow passage 25A is provided at the attachment portion 233 of the electrical contact portion 23, one end opens to the outside of the male terminal 2, extends in the vertical direction Z (the radial direction of the electrical contact portion 23), and the other end is continuously provided to the upstream extending flow passage 25B. This upstream connection flow passage 25A is configured to be connected to the upper pipe 71 of the cooling structure 7 described later as shown in FIG. 1.

[0021] The upstream extending flow passage 25B and the downstream extending flow passage 25D are provided in parallel to each other on the contact portion main body 231 as shown in FIG. 3, and are provided extending in the front-rear direction Y.

[0022] One end of the upstream extending flow passage 25B is continuous with the upstream connecting flow passage 25A, and is provided extending in the front-rear direction Y (axial direction of the electrical contact portion 23), and the other end is open to the outside of the male terminal 2. One end of the downstream extending flow passage 25D is open to the outside of the male terminal 2, and is provided extending in the front-rear direction Y (axial direction of the electrical contact portion 23), and the other end is continuously provided with the downstream connecting flow passage 25E.

[0023] These upstream extending flow passage 25B and downstream extending flow passage 25D are continuously provided with a connecting flow passage 25C described later.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting flow passage 25C is provided on the insulating cap 24 of the electrical contact portion 23, and is provided so as to communicate the upstream extending flow passage 25B and the downstream extending flow passage 25D.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, the downstream connecting flow passage 25E is provided at the base portion 233 of the electrical contact portion 23. One end is continuous with the downstream extending flow passage 25D, and is provided extending in the vertical direction Z (radial direction of the electrical contact portion 23), and the other end is open to the outside of the male terminal 2. This downstream connecting flow passage 25E is configured to be connected to a lower pipe 72 of a cooling structure 7 described later as shown in FIG. 1.

[0026] In such a male terminal 2, the upstream connecting flow passage 25A, the upstream extending flow passage 25B, the downstream extending flow passage 25D, and the downstream connecting flow passage 25E are provided on the electrical contact portion 23, and the connecting flow passage 25C is provided on the insulating cap 24. Thereby, compared with the case where all of the flow passages 25 are provided on the male terminal 2, the manufacture of the male terminal 2 can be facilitated.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the male housing 8 is configured to have a male terminal housing chamber 80 that extends in the same direction as the male terminal 2 (front-rear direction Y) and accommodates the male terminal 2. The male terminal housing chamber 80 is configured to have a front housing chamber 8F that accommodates the contact body 231 of the electrical contact part 23, a rear housing chamber 8B that accommodates the base 233, the base 21, and the flange-shaped part 22 of the electrical contact part 23, an upstream insertion hole 81 (first insertion hole) into which the upper piping 71 constituting the cooling structure 7 is inserted, and a downstream insertion hole 82 (second insertion hole) into which the lower piping 72 constituting the cooling structure 7 is inserted.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the front housing chamber 8F is provided continuously in front of the rear housing chamber 8B in Y1, and extends to approximately the same position as the front end of the male terminal 2 when the male terminal 2 is housed in the male terminal housing chamber 80. That is, the front end 8f of the front housing chamber 8F and the front end of the male terminal 2 are located at approximately the same position in the front-rear direction Y. Inside the front housing chamber 8F, the contact body 231 of the electrical contact part 23 is inserted into the female terminal body 41 of the female terminal 4, so that the female terminal 4 and the male terminal 2 are mated together.

[0029] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the upstream insertion hole 81 extends in the vertical direction Z (radial direction of the electrical contact portion 23) and is composed of a through hole that communicates with the outside of the male housing 8 and the rear side housing chamber 8B. By inserting the upper pipe 71 into this upstream insertion hole 81, the upper pipe 71 is connected to the upstream connection flow passage 25A of the male terminal 2.

[0030] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the downstream insertion hole 82 extends in the vertical direction Z (radial direction of the electrical contact portion 23) and is composed of a through hole that communicates with the outside of the male housing 8 and the rear side housing chamber 8B. By inserting the lower pipe 72 into this downstream insertion hole 82, the lower pipe 72 is connected to the downstream connection flow passage 25E of the male terminal 2.

[0031] The flange portion 6 is integrally and continuously provided at the rear end of each male housing 8. When the flange portion 6 is fixed to the mounting object, each male housing 8 is fixed to the mounting object via the flange portion 6.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, the cooling structure 7 comprises a storage tank 70 in which coolant L is stored, an upper pipe 71 and a lower pipe 72 (a pair of pipes), and a pump 73 that draws up the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70. The upper pipe 71 and the lower pipe 72 are made of insulating resin.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, the upper pipe 71 has one end immersed in the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70, and the other end is inserted into the upstream insertion hole 81 of the male housing 8 and connected to the upstream connecting flow passage 25A. This upper pipe 71 is configured to draw up the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70 when the pump 73 is started and send the coolant L to the upstream connecting flow passage 25A via the upper pipe 71.

[0034] As shown in Figure 1, the lower pipe 72 is positioned such that one end is inserted into the downstream insertion hole 82 of the male housing 8 and connected to the downstream connecting flow passage 25E, while the other end faces the bottom surface of the storage tank 70. This lower pipe 72 is configured to deliver the coolant L that has circulated through the flow passage 25 to the storage tank 70.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the female connector body 5 comprises a pair of female terminals 4, 4 that can be mated to each of the pair of male terminals 2, and a female housing portion 50 that supports the pair of female terminals 4, 4. In Figures 1 and 2, only one of the pair of female terminals 4, 4 is shown, and the other is omitted.

[0036] A pair of female terminals 4, 4 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction X. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each female terminal 4 comprises a cylindrical female terminal body 41 into which the electrical contact portion 23 of the male terminal 2 is inserted, and a wire connection portion 42 that is provided continuously with the female terminal body 41 and is mechanically and electrically connected to the electric wire W.

[0037] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the female terminal body 41 is supported by the female housing portion 50, which will be described later, and its central axis is provided along the front-rear direction Y.

[0038] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wire connection portion 42 is continuous with the rear end of the female terminal body 41 and extends downward Z2 in a bent shape. In this embodiment, the wire connection portion 42 and the wire W are mechanically and electrically connected by crimping the wire connection portion 42 onto the core wire W1 of the wire W.

[0039] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the female housing portion 50 comprises a box-shaped housing body 51 and a partition portion 52 (shown in Figure 1) that divides the inside of the housing body 51 into left and right sections. The partition portion 52 is flanked by support spaces 5S on both sides in the left-right direction X for supporting a pair of female terminals 4, 4. When the female terminals 4 are supported in the support spaces 5S, the front end of the female terminal body 41 is exposed, and the wire connection portion 42 is located inside the support space 5S, with the wire W connected to the wire connection portion 42 extending downward Z2.

[0040] When mating the pair of male connectors 3, 3 and the female connector body 5 that constitute such a terminal cooling device 1, the female connector body 5, which includes the pair of female terminals 4, 4, is brought close to the pair of male connectors 3, which include the pair of male terminals 2, 2. As a result, the tips of each female terminal 4 are brought close to the tips of each male terminal 2, and the electrical contact portion 23 of each male terminal 2 is inserted into the female terminal body 41 of each female terminal 4. Further insertion is performed, and as shown in Figure 1, the rear end 5b of the female housing portion 50 comes into contact with the front end 8f of the male housing 8, stopping the insertion. In this way, the pair of male connectors 3, 3 and the female connector body 5 are mated to each other, and each male terminal 2 and each female terminal 4 are electrically connected.

[0041] Here, with each male terminal 2 and each female terminal 4 electrically connected, when current flows through each male terminal 2 and each female terminal 4 (when energized), the pump 73 of the cooling structure 7 is activated, and the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70 is circulated in the following order: upper piping 71, upstream connecting flow passage 25A, upstream extending flow passage 25B, connecting flow passage 25C, downstream extending flow passage 25D, downstream connecting flow passage 25E, and lower piping 72. By circulating the coolant L inside the male terminal 2 in this way, heat dissipation is maintained even during prolonged continuous energization, and the temperature rise of the male terminal 2 is suppressed over a long period of time.

[0042] According to the embodiment described above, the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70 is circulated inside the male terminal 2 in the order of the upstream connecting flow passage 25A, the upstream extending flow passage 25B, the connecting flow passage 25C, the downstream extending flow passage 25D, and the downstream connecting flow passage 25E, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the male terminal 2 over a long period of time.

[0043] Furthermore, the male terminal 2 has an upstream connecting flow passage 25A, an upstream extending flow passage 25B, a downstream extending flow passage 25D, and a downstream connecting flow passage 25E, all of which are provided in the electrical contact portion 23, and a connecting flow passage 25C, which is provided in the insulating cap 24 (cap). This makes it easier to manufacture the male terminal 2 compared to the case where all of the flow passages 25 are provided in the male terminal 2.

[0044] Furthermore, the male terminal 2 has an upper pipe 71 and a lower pipe 72 (a pair of pipes) connected to the flow passage 25 for circulating the coolant L. The flow passage 25 has an upstream connecting flow passage 25A (fourth flow passage) which is provided continuously with the upstream extending flow passage 25B (first flow passage) and connected to the upper pipe 71 (one of the pair of pipes), and a downstream connecting flow passage 25E (fifth flow passage) which is provided continuously with the downstream extending flow passage 25D (second flow passage) and connected to the lower pipe 72 (the other of the pair of pipes). With this configuration, the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70 is circulated inside the male terminal 2 in the order of upper pipe 71, upstream connecting flow passage 25A, upstream extending flow passage 25B, connecting flow passage 25C, downstream extending flow passage 25D, downstream connecting flow passage 25E, and lower pipe 72, thereby realizing a configuration that suppresses the temperature rise of the male terminal 2 over a long period of time.

[0045] Furthermore, the male housing 8 has an upstream insertion hole 81 (first insertion hole) into which the upper pipe 71 (one of a pair of pipes) is inserted and which is provided communicating with the outside of the male housing 8 and the upstream connecting flow passage 25A (fourth flow passage), and a downstream insertion hole 82 (second insertion hole) into which the lower pipe 72 (the other of a pair of pipes) is inserted and which is provided communicating with the outside of the male housing 8 and the downstream connecting flow passage 25E (fifth flow passage). With this configuration, when the upper pipe 71 is inserted into the upstream insertion hole 81 and the lower pipe 72 is inserted into the downstream insertion hole 82, the coolant L stored in the storage tank 70 is circulated inside the male terminal 2, thereby realizing a configuration that suppresses the temperature rise of the male terminal 2 over time.

[0046] Furthermore, while the best configurations and methods for carrying out the present invention are disclosed in the above description, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, although the present invention is particularly illustrated and described with respect to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the embodiments described above in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and objectives of the present invention. Therefore, the limiting descriptions of shape, material, etc. disclosed above are provided as examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. Accordingly, descriptions of components with some or all of these limitations removed are included in the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1 Terminal cooling device 2 male terminals 4 female terminal 8 Male Housing 23 Electrical contact area 24 Insulating cap (cap) 25 Distribution path 25A Upstream connecting flow channel (4th flow channel) 25B Upstream extended flow passage (first flow passage) 25C Connecting flow path (3rd flow path) 25D Downstream extended flow passage (second flow passage) 25E Downstream connecting passage (5th passage) 71 Upper piping (one of a pair of pipes) 72 Lower piping (the other of a pair of pipes) 81 Upstream insertion hole (first insertion hole) 82 Downstream insertion hole (second insertion hole)

Claims

1. A male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, A male housing that accommodates the male terminal, The male terminal is provided with a flow passage for circulating coolant, The male terminal has an electrical contact portion that is inserted inside the female terminal, It has an insulating cap provided at the tip of the electrical contact part, The flow passage comprises a first flow passage and a second flow passage extending in the axial direction of the electrical contact portion, It has a third flow passage connecting the first flow passage and the second flow passage, The first and second flow passages are provided in the electrical contact portion, The terminal cooling device is characterized in that the third flow passage is provided in the cap.

2. It has a pair of pipes connected to the flow passage for circulating the coolant, The flow passage is provided in continuity with the first flow passage and is connected to one of the pair of pipes, The terminal cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a fifth flow passage provided in continuity with the second flow passage and connected to the other of the pair of pipes.

3. The terminal cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that the male housing has a first insertion hole provided which communicates with the outside of the male housing and the fourth flow passage for inserting one of the pair of pipes, and a second insertion hole provided which communicates with the outside of the male housing and the fifth flow passage for inserting the other of the pair of pipes.

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