JP2000277220A - Connector structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector structure assuring reduction of the manufacturing costs and management cost, capable of establishing a positively fitted condition and superior in the connection quality and also the safety by introducing such a structure that common housings free of male-female distinction are fitted together. SOLUTION: A connector structure includes a first 3 and a second housing 3 to be fitted together which have a common housing structure, each being equipped with a projection 37 and a recess 10 adjacently each other, and a pair of slits 39 are formed between the wall surfaces of the projection 37 and the recess 10. The projection 37 of the first housing 3 is inserted into the recess 10 of the other housing 3, while the projection 37 of the second housing is inserted into the recess 10 of the first housing, so that fitting of the two housings is established. Therein the contacting areas 41 of the contacts of the projection 37 provided along the sidewall surface of the recess 10 contact each other so that electrical connections are secured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector structure of an electrical connector mainly used for connecting cables.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to connect objects such as cables and flexible printed circuit boards to each other, electrical connectors having various shapes and structures (hereinafter simply referred to as connectors).
Has been put to practical use. A connector called a separated type is mainly used for connecting cables, and usually includes a pair of male and female connectors.

[0003] Each connector typically has a resin housing and metal contacts housed therein. At least as many contacts as the number of conductors (cores) of the connection target (cable) are provided, and each contact is fixed in the housing in a state of being electrically connected to each core of the cable. Fixed. Then, when the pair of male and female connectors are fitted together, the contacts of one connector come into contact with the corresponding contacts of the other connector. By ensuring the contact state of the plural pairs of contacts, the cables are electrically connected to each other.

As described above, in the case of a detachable connector, it is general to use a pair of male and female housings, whereby the fitting state between the connectors is ensured. While the attachment / detachment in the fitting direction is easy, the fitting between the connectors is not accidentally released by the external force in the perpendicular direction. Further, in order to ensure the contact (electrical connection) between the plural pairs of contacts, the contacts are also constituted by a pair of male and female contacts, for example, the male contacts are accommodated in the female housing and the female contacts are accommodated in the male housing. A common connector structure is also used.

However, as a disadvantage of the connector structure comprising a pair of male and female housings (and contacts) as described above, the types of contacts, housings, and connectors are each doubled, which is disadvantageous in terms of manufacturing costs and management costs. Some things can be mentioned. Therefore, as described in JP-A-7-296874,
A connector structure has been proposed in which a common connector having no distinction between male and female is fitted to each other to electrically connect cables.

In this connector structure, a pair of housings have the same shape and structure, and a plurality of contacts housed in each housing also have the same shape and structure. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and the management cost are reduced as compared with the case where a pair of male and female housings and contacts having different shapes and structures are used.

[0007]

However, the connector structure described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-296874 has, as is apparent from the drawing, an engaging portion provided at an intermediate portion of the housing and a distal end portion. The pair of housings is fitted only by the engagement with the provided engaged portion. Therefore, it is considered that the fitting strength is weaker than that of a general connector structure in which a pair of male and female housings are fitted, and the fitting state is likely to be inadvertently released by an external force.

Further, the contact portion of the contact is exposed on the side surface of the housing, so that the contact portion of the contact can be easily touched in a state where the connectors are released from each other. Therefore, it is not preferable in terms of safety and connection quality.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and reduces the manufacturing cost and the management cost by making a pair of housings (preferably also contacts) have a common shape and structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector structure in which a reliable fitting state is obtained and connection quality and safety are also excellent.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A connector structure according to the present invention includes a first housing containing a first set of one or more contacts and a second housing containing a second set of one or more contacts. A connector structure of an electrical connector, wherein a contact state between corresponding contacts of a first contact set and a second contact set is secured when two housings are fitted, wherein the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other. A first housing having a common housing structure, the housing structure including a convex portion and a concave portion provided adjacent to each other, a pair of slits being formed between the convex portion and the wall surface of the concave portion, and a convex portion of the first housing; Is inserted into the concave portion of the second housing, and at the same time, the convex portion of the second housing is inserted into the concave portion of the first housing. Characterized in that it is configured to focus.

[0011] According to such a structure, the pair of housings is common without regard to gender, so that manufacturing costs and management costs can be reduced. In addition, since the protrusions and recesses provided on the housing are fitted into the recesses and protrusions of the other housing, respectively, a very strong fitting state and, consequently, excellent connection quality can be obtained. The pair of slits provided between the convex portion and the wall surface of the concave portion serve as a relief when the convex portion and the concave portion are fitted to the concave portion and the convex portion of the mating housing, and are half of the fitting stroke. It has the above length.

Preferably, along the side wall surface of the concave portion of the convex portion,
A contact portion for one or more contacts is provided. Therefore, since the contacts can be stored in the housing without exposing the contacts, a structure excellent in safety and quality can be obtained.

[0013] More preferably, a locking portion for maintaining the fitted state of the housings is provided. Thereby, when an external force in a direction opposite to the fitting direction is applied to the housing, the fitted state can be prevented from being easily released.

The housing structure comprises a contact fixing portion for fixing one or a plurality of contacts, and a cable fixing portion for fixing a connection object such as a cable.
It is preferable that the cable fixing portion to which the connection target is fixed and the contact fixing portion are fitted so that the contact state between each of the contacts and the corresponding conductor to be connected is ensured. According to such a two-piece structure, the housing can be easily and simultaneously fixed to the covering of the cable (connection target) and the contact can be electrically connected to the cable core (conductor).

In this case, the contact fixing portion can be a resin molded product (for example, insert molding) in which one or a plurality of contacts are integrally molded, whereby the number of connector assembling steps can be reduced.

Further, the cable fixing portion has a blind portion that makes the end portion of the connection object invisible when the end portion of the connection object such as a cable is fixed, and the connection is made by removing the blind portion. It is preferable that the intermediate portion of the object is configured to be fixable. The connector with this structure can be connected to the end of the cable as well as the middle, and when connected to the end of the cable, the end of the cable is not visible, so a good appearance is obtained and the insulation is obtained. Increases reliability.

Preferably, the contacts forming the first contact set and the contacts forming the second contact set have the same shape. In other words, not only the housing but also the contacts are shared regardless of gender, so that the manufacturing cost and the management cost can be further reduced.

In this case, in order to increase the contact reliability between the contacts as much as possible, the contacts have elasticity, and when the first housing and the second housing are fitted, the first contact set and the second contact set are connected. It is preferable that the corresponding contacts are configured so as to secure a contact state at a plurality of contact points. Specific contact shapes and the like will be described in the description of the embodiments.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of the connector structure of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view as viewed from a direction crossing the cable, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of Ib-Ib in FIG. 1A, in which a pair of connectors 1 and 2 are fitted. The state is shown. The connector 1 is drawn by a solid line, and the connector 2 is drawn by a two-dot chain line.

The connector 1 and the connector 2 include a housing 3 and a contact 4 having a common shape and structure. The contact 4 is bent in an L-shape, one end of which is electrically connected to the core wire (conductor) of the cable 6, and the other end of which constitutes a contact portion 41 which contacts the contact 4 of the mating connector. A concave portion 1 is provided on the front surface 50 of the housing 3.
0 and the protrusion 11 are provided vertically adjacent to each other. The contact portion 41 of the contact 4 is provided along the side wall surface of the concave portion 10 of the convex portion 11, and a plurality of contacts 4 (contact portions 41) are arranged at a predetermined pitch.

When the connector 1 and the connector 2 are fitted to each other, the protrusion 11 of the housing 3 of the connector 1 is inserted into the recess 10 of the housing 3 of the connector 2 and at the same time, the protrusion 11 of the housing 3 of the connector 2 is The first housing 3 is inserted into the recess 10. The contact portions 41 of the contacts 4 on the connector 1 and the contact portions 41 of the contacts 4 on the connector 2 are in contact with each other. Four contacts 4 (contact portions 4) arranged at a predetermined pitch
1) is in contact with the corresponding contact 4 (contact portion 41) of the mating connector. Thus, the cable 6 to which the connector 1 is connected and the cable 6 to which the connector 2 is connected are electrically connected.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connector structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. Housing 3 for connector 1
Has a two-piece structure including a contact fixing portion 31 and a cable fixing portion 32. FIG. 2A shows a state where the contact fixing part 31 and the cable fixing part 32 are separated, and FIG. 2B shows a state where the contact fixing part 31 and the cable fixing part 32 are fitted.

The cable fixing portion 32 is a resin molded product.
A cable 6 in which a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of core wires (conductors) 61 and their coatings 60 are fixed in parallel is fixed.
The cable fixing portion 32 can be fixed so as to sandwich an arbitrary position of an end portion or an intermediate portion of the cable 6.

The contact fixing portion 31 is also a resin molded product, and the metal contact 4 is embedded by insert molding. A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) contacts 4 are fixed at a pitch corresponding to the four cores of the cable 6. The contact is bent in a substantially L-shape.
A notch end 40 for electrical connection with
A contact portion 41 for contacting the contact 4 of the mating connector is formed at the other end.

In FIG. 2A, the cable fixing portion 32
When the contact fixing portion 31 and the contact fixing portion 31 are fitted in the up-down direction (Z direction), the cut ends 40 of the four contacts 4 cut into the coverings 60 of the corresponding core wires 61 while electrically connecting the core wires 61 with each other. Connected to. When the cable fixing part 32 and the contact fixing part 31 are completely fitted, as shown in FIG. 2B, four locking projections 33 provided on the cable fixing part 32 are provided on the contact fixing part 31. The engaging portions 34 are engaged with the four receiving portions 34, and the fitting state of the two is strengthened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the connector 1 connected to the cable 6 as described above and the connector 2 similarly connected to another cable 6 are connected. Although different numbers are given for convenience, the connector 1 and the connector 2 have the same shape and structure. Therefore,
The description of the structure and the like of the connector 1 also applies to the connector 2.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, a recess 10 is formed in the distal end surface of the housing (contact fixing portion 31) of the connector 1.
And the convex portion 37 are provided adjacent to each other. The convex portion 37
One surface of a wall surrounding the concave portion 10 having a rectangular opening is formed, and slits 39 are formed at both ends thereof. That is, a pair of slits 39 is formed between the wall surface of the concave portion 10 and the convex portion 37. The contact portions 41 of the four contacts 4 are provided along the wall surface of the convex portion 37 on the concave portion 10 side. In the following description, the convex portion 11 and the contact portion 41 of the contact 4 together may be referred to as the convex portion 11.

In FIG. 3, the connector 1 and the connector 2 are made to approach each other along the longitudinal direction (Y direction) of the cable 6, and the protrusion 11 of the connector 2 is inserted into the recess 10 of the connector 1. To the convex part 1 of the connector 1
When the connector 1 is inserted, the connectors 1 and 2 (the housings thereof) are fitted to each other. This fitting is enabled by a pair of slits 39 formed between the wall surface of the concave portion 10 and the convex portion 11 (37). The slit 39 has a length of at least half of the fitting stroke.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the housings of the connector 1 and the connector 2 are fitted together as described above. The engagement between the housing 3 of the connector 1 and the housing of the connector 2 is achieved by the engagement of the engagement claw 35 and the engagement recess 36 provided on both sides of the housing 3 with the engagement recess 36 and the engagement claw 35 of the mating housing. The state is maintained, and even if an external force in a direction opposite to the fitting direction (for example, a force when the cable 6 is pulled) is applied to the housing, the fitted state is not easily released. When the locking claw 35 is elastically deformed in a predetermined direction (to expand in the W direction in FIG. 3), the engagement between the locking claw 35 and the locking recess 36 is released, and the connector 1 and the connector 2 are disengaged. Can easily be released from the fitting state.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing how the contacts 4 of the connector 1 and the contacts 4 of the connector 2 come into contact when the housings of the connector 1 and the connector 2 are fitted together. In FIG. 5A, the connector 1 is drawn by a solid line, and the connector 2 is drawn by a two-dot chain line. FIG. 5 (b)
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the contact portion 41 of the contact 4 of the connector 1 contacts the contact portion 41 of the contact 4 of the connector 2. FIG. 6A is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.
Shown in

As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the contact portions 41 of the four contacts 4 of the connector 1 and the connector 2 are provided.
Are provided at a predetermined pitch along the side wall surface of the concave portion 10 of the convex portion 37 of the housing 3. Four support grooves 37a for supporting the contact portion 41 of the contact 4 are formed at a predetermined pitch on the wall surface of the convex portion 37 on the concave portion 10 side. This restricts the movement of the contact portion 41 in the width direction. The movement of the contact portion 41 toward the convex portion 37 is performed by using the convex portion 3.
7 is regulated by contact with the wall surface.

In FIG. 6, the width W1 of the convex portion 11 is
It is set slightly smaller than the width W2 of 0. This allows the protrusion 11 of one connector to enter the recess 10 of the other connector, since there is only a slight gap between the two, so that the corresponding contacts 4 of the pair of connectors can be accurately positioned. opposite. Then, an appropriate contact state between the contact portions 41 of the opposing contacts 4 is obtained as follows.

The contact 4 is formed of a highly elastic and highly conductive metal (for example, phosphor bronze).
As shown in FIG. As a result, the contact portion 41 of the contact 4 and the contact portion 4 of the partner contact 4
It is configured such that two contact points can be formed between the two. That is, as shown in FIG.
Of the contact portion 41 of the contact portion 41 contacts the proximal end portion 41b and the distal end portion 41a of the contact portion 41 of the counterpart contact 4, respectively. Thus, a highly reliable contact state (electric connection) is ensured.

FIG. 7 shows three modes of connecting the cables 6 using the connectors 1 and 2 as described above. FIG. 7A shows a connection example in a case where the connectors 1 and 2 are both connected to an intermediate portion of the cable 6. As described with reference to FIG.
(The cable fixing portion 32 of the housing 3)
Can be fixed so as to sandwich any position of the end portion or the intermediate portion.

FIG. 7B shows a connection example in which the connector 1 is connected to the middle of the cable 6 and the connector 2 is connected to the end of the cable 6. FIG.
(C) shows a connection example when the connectors 1 and 2 are both connected to the end of the cable 6. As described above, when the connector is connected to the end of the cable, the blind portion 3a that makes the end of the cable invisible from the outside is used.
Is provided on the housing 3.

The blind portion 3a is formed integrally with the cable fixing portion 32 while being connected to the housing 3 (cable fixing portion 32) through, for example, a thin portion. When connecting the cable fixing part 32 to the end of the cable 6, the cable fixing part 32 is used as it is. Cable fixing part 3
2 is connected to the middle part of the cable 6,
The cable fixing part 32 from which a has been removed is used. In this case, a common connector can be used regardless of whether the connector is connected to the end or the middle of the cable. In addition, when the connector is connected to the end of the cable, the end of the cable is not visible from the outside, so that a good appearance can be obtained and the problem of insulation hardly occurs.

In the above-described embodiment, the housing 3 of the connector comprises the contact fixing portion 31 and the cable fixing portion 3.
2, but the present invention can be applied to a connector having a one-piece housing.

In the above-described embodiment, both the housing and the contact use a common one regardless of gender. However, only the housing is used in common, and the contact is configured so that a pair of male and female contacts come into contact as in the past. You may. At least if the housings are common, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing manufacturing costs and management costs to some extent.

The shapes of the pair of housings to be fitted do not necessarily have to completely match. That is, it is not necessary that they are molded by the same mold. The effects of the present invention can be obtained even when the molding is performed using different molds and the shapes of the details are different.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show another example of a connector structure in which common connectors having no distinction between male and female are fitted. 8A and 8B are a cross-sectional view and a side view showing one example, and FIG. 8C is a side view showing another example. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing still another example. In this example, the contact portion 41 of the contact is provided in a portion that is neither the convex portion 11 nor the concave portion 10.

[0042]

As described above, according to the connector structure of the present invention, the objects to be connected such as cables are connected to each other using the common housing which does not distinguish between male and female, so that the manufacturing cost and the management cost are reduced. Can be achieved. In addition, since the protrusions and recesses provided on the housing are fitted into the recesses and protrusions of the other housing, respectively, a very strong fitting state and, consequently, excellent connection quality can be obtained.

Further, since the contacts can be accommodated in the housing without exposing the contacts, a structure excellent in safety and quality can be obtained.

Further, the connector can be connected to the end of the cable or to the middle of the cable. When the connector is connected to the end of the cable, the end of the cable cannot be seen, so that a good appearance can be obtained. The insulation reliability is increased.

Further, not only the housing but also the contacts are used in common regardless of gender, so that the manufacturing cost and the management cost can be further reduced. At this time, the contact reliability between the contacts can be increased by configuring the contacts to ensure the contact state at a plurality of contact points.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing a connector structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connector structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a connector connected to one cable is connected to a connector connected to the other cable.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the connectors of FIG. 3 are fitted to each other.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing how the contacts come into contact when the housings of a pair of connectors are fitted together.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing three aspects when connecting cables using the connector of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of a connector structure in which common connectors having no distinction between male and female are fitted together.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of a connector structure in which common connectors having no distinction between male and female are fitted together.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Connector 3 Housing 3a Blindfolded part 4 Contact 6 Cable 10 Concave part 11 (37) Convex part 31 Contact fixing part 32 Cable fixing part 35 Locking claw (locking part) 36 Locking concave part (locking part) 41 Contact part 61 core wire (conductor)

Claims (8)

[Claims] A first housing accommodating a first contact set including one or a plurality of contacts and a second housing accommodating a second contact set including a one or a plurality of contacts; A connector structure of an electrical connector in which a contact state between corresponding contacts of a first contact set and a second contact set is ensured, wherein the first housing and the second housing have a common housing structure. The housing structure includes a convex portion and a concave portion provided adjacent to each other, a pair of slits is formed between the convex portion and a wall surface of the concave portion, and the convex portion of the first housing is formed by the second The first housing and the second housing are inserted into the recess of the housing at the same time as the protrusion of the second housing is inserted into the recess of the first housing. Connector structure in which a managing characterized in that it is configured to fit. 2. The connector structure according to claim 1, wherein a contact portion of the one or more contacts is provided along the side wall surface of the concave portion of the convex portion. 3. The housing structure according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging portion for maintaining a fitted state between the housings.
The described connector structure. 4. The housing structure comprises a contact fixing portion for fixing one or a plurality of contacts, and a cable fixing portion for fixing a connection object such as a cable, and the cable fixing portion fixing the connection object. 2. The connector structure according to claim 1, wherein a contact state between each of the contacts and a corresponding conductor to be connected is ensured by fitting the contact and the contact fixing portion. 3. 5. The connector structure according to claim 4, wherein said contact fixing portion is a resin molded product in which said one or more contacts are integrally formed. 6. The cable fixing portion has a blind portion that makes the end of the connection target invisible when the end of the connection target such as the cable is fixed, and removes the blind portion. The connector structure according to claim 4, wherein the connector is configured to be able to fix the intermediate portion to be connected. 7. The connector structure according to claim 1, wherein the contacts forming the first contact set and the contacts forming the second contact set have the same shape. 8. The contact has elasticity, and when the first housing and the second housing are fitted with each other, the corresponding contacts of the first contact set and the second contact set form a plurality of contacts. The connector structure according to claim 7, wherein the connector structure is configured to secure a contact state at a point.