Connector

Abstract

A connector (10) according to the present disclosure is provided with: an insulation-displacement terminal (30) into which an electric wire (W) is press-fitted; a housing (20) into which the insulation-displacement terminal (30) is inserted from a rear side; and an electric wire cover (40) attached to a rear end of the housing (20). The electric wire cover (40) has a pressing part (44A) that, by being attached to the housing (20) from the rear side, pushes the electric wire (W) forward to press-fit the electric wire (W) into the insulation-displacement terminal (30). First, the insulation-displacement terminal (30) is inserted into the housing (20) from the rear side. Next, an electric wire (W) is set behind the insulation-displacement terminal (30), and the electric wire cover (40) is attached to the housing (20) from the rear side. At this time, the pressing part (44A) of the electric wire cover (40) pushes the electric wire (W) forward to press-fit the electric wire (W) into the insulation-displacement terminal (30). Therefore, the electric wire (W) can be press-fitted into the insulation-displacement terminal (30) by attaching the electric wire cover (40) to the housing (20).

Description

connector

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors.

[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 synthetic resin housing and a plurality of female terminals held within the housing while 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.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-10275

[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.

[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.

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

[0007] Figure 1 is a left rear perspective view of the connector. Figure 2 is a right rear perspective view of the connector. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the wire cover. Figure 5 is a top view of the connector with the wire cover filled with resin. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A in Figure 5. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along B-B in Figure 5. Figure 8 is a side view of the connector with the wire cover filled with resin. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along C-C in Figure 8. Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along D-D in Figure 8.

[0008] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. [1] A connector of the present disclosure includes 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 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], the wire cover preferably 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 wire is crimped by the pressing portion and temporarily held by the temporary holding portion. Therefore, the wire can be temporarily held 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 convenience of explanation, some components may be exaggerated or simplified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios of each part 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 this 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] 1 to 10, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, the direction indicated by the arrow Z is defined as upward, the direction indicated by the arrow X is defined as forward, and the direction indicated by the arrow Y is defined as leftward. Note that, in some cases, when multiple identical components are used, only some of the components will be designated by reference numerals, and the reference numerals for the other components will be omitted.

[0014] 1 to 3 , the connector 10 includes a housing 20, insulation displacement terminals 30 to which electric wires W are crimped, and a 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 penetrates 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 rear side as shown 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 insulated 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 consisting 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 configured from an 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 insulation cover W2 and presses the core wire W1 into contact with the insulation displacement terminal 30. Subsequently, the pair of second clamping pieces 32 cuts the insulation cover W2 and presses the core wire W1 into contact with the insulation displacement terminal 30. This electrically connects the electric wire W to 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 is open to the front. As shown in Fig. 4 , the wire cover 40 includes a first wall portion 41 having a wire insertion hole 41A through which the electric 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 up-down 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 the pair of locking holes 42A, 43A from the inside and lock in place. This allows the wire cover 40 to be held in place 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 inside of the wire cover 40 with the resin 50. A method of 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 located at the lower left and upper right when viewed from the front, and the pair of temporary holding portions 44B are located at the upper left and lower right when viewed from the front. Both the pressing portions 44A and the temporary holding portions 44B are rectangular when viewed from the front. The temporary holding portions 44B are formed larger than the pressing portions 44A.

[0025] The portion of the electric wire W that is pressed by the pressing portion 44A is a first pressed portion W21, and the portion that is 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 projections 23 engage with the 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] (Method of Filling Resin 50) 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 outlet port of a dispenser (not shown) or the like is inserted into this 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 , during filling with 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 crimp terminal 30 to which the electric wire W is crimped, a housing 20 into which the crimp 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 press it against the crimp 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, bringing them into pressure contact with the insulation displacement terminals 30. Therefore, by attaching the wire cover 40 to the housing 20, the electric wires W can be pressure-contacted to the insulation displacement terminals 30.

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

[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, the pair of electric wires W are pressure-connected to the 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 illustrated. However, the wire cover may not have the temporary holding portion.

[0034] 10: Connector 20: Housing 20A: Rear surface 21: Cavity 22: Base 22A: Rear surface 23: Locking protrusion 30: Press-fit terminal 31: First clamping piece 32: Second clamping piece 33: Connecting portion 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: Inlet 44: Fourth wall portion 44A: Pressing portion 44B: Temporary holding portion 45: Fifth wall portion 50: Resin W: Wire W1: Core wire W2: Cover W21: First pressed portion W22: Second pressed portion

Claims

1. A connector comprising: 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 to push the electric wire forward and crimp it onto the crimping terminal.

2. A connector as described in claim 1, wherein 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.

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