Abstract:
A connector is connected to a terminal of a coil wound on a motor bobbin in a motor, and coupled with a mating connector to electrically connect the motor and an external device. In the connector, at least one conductive connection member is accommodated in an insulative holder. The connection member includes a main body, a first engagement section monolithically formed on a first end portion of the main body to elastically hold the terminal of the coil, and a second engagement section monolithically formed on a second end portion of the main body to be coupled with the mating connector.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a connector designed for coupling an external-device with a motor, as well as to a motor incorporating the connector.  
           [0002]    In relation to a motor, an end of a drive coil (i.e., a winding) wound around a motor bobbin is generally soldered to a coil terminal assuming the shape of a pin. Likewise, the coil terminal is connected to a substrate by soldering. A vinyl line extending from the substrate is routed to an external device, such as a controller. A connector is provided at a terminal of the vinyl line extending from the motor. The motor connector is fitted to a mating connector, whereby an external device is electrically connected to the coil terminal of the motor.  
           [0003]    However, such a commonly-used motor connector uses numerous parts, such as those mentioned above, making parts control and productivity unsatisfactory. Further, large-scale use of solder deteriorates the working environment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    Accordingly, the invention aims at providing a motor connector designed so as to enable inexpensive and superior connection of connectors by use of a simple structure, as well as providing a motor incorporating the motor connector.  
           [0005]    In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector connected to a terminal of a coil wound on a motor bobbin in a motor, and coupled with a mating connector to electrically connect the motor and an external device, the connector comprising:  
           [0006]    an insulative holder; and  
           [0007]    at least one conductive connection member, accommodated in the holder, the connection member includes:  
           [0008]    a main body;  
           [0009]    a first engagement section, monolithically formed on a first end portion of the main body to hold the terminal of the coil; and  
           [0010]    a second engagement section, monolithically formed on a second end portion of the main body to be coupled with the mating connector.  
           [0011]    Preferably, the first engagement section elastically holds the terminal of the coil.  
           [0012]    In this configuration, the coil terminal is connected directly to the connection member without involvement of any other member. Hence, a connecting operation is performed efficiently by use of a minimum component constitution.  
           [0013]    Preferably, the main body of the connection member extends in a first direction which is parallel with a rotary shaft of the motor. Here, the mating connector is attached to the second engagement section in the first direction. The terminal of the coil is attached to the first engagement section in a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction.  
           [0014]    In this configuration, it is prevented load from directly exerting to any connection portion between the first engagement section and the coil terminal when the mating connector is attached to the second engagement section.  
           [0015]    Preferably, the connection member is formed from a single conductive plate including a pair of main body pieces extended from a connecting portion in a cantilevered manner to form the main body. Here, the second engagement section is extended from one end portion of the connecting portion. The connection member is formed by folding the connecting portion such that the main body pieces are opposed with each other while defining a gap therebetween.  
           [0016]    In this configuration, it is efficiently improved rigidity of the connector by a connection member of compact geometry.  
           [0017]    Here, it is preferable that an engagement piece is extended from a free end portion of each main body piece in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the main body piece extends. The engagement pieces are opposed with each other when the connecting portion is folded to define a gap therebetween. The terminal of the coil is inserted into the gap between the engagement pieces so that the engagement pieces serve as the first engagement section.  
           [0018]    In this configuration, the first engagement section is efficiently formed by utilization of the geometry of a folded portion of the main body. Hence, productivity of the connector can be further improved.  
           [0019]    According to the present invention, there is also provided a motor, comprising:  
           [0020]    a casing body;  
           [0021]    a motor bobbin accommodated in the casing body;  
           [0022]    a coil wound on the motor bobbin;  
           [0023]    a connector provided with at least one conductive connection member including:  
           [0024]    a main body;  
           [0025]    a first engagement section, monolithically formed on a first end portion of the main body to elastically hold a terminal of the coil; and  
           [0026]    a second engagement section, monolithically formed on a second end portion of the main body to be coupled with a mating connector to which an external device is connected.  
           [0027]    Preferably, the first engagement section elastically holds the terminal of the coil.  
           [0028]    Preferably, the connector includes an insulative holder for accommodating the connection member therein. Here, the holder is integrally fitted with the casing body to form a part of the casing body.  
           [0029]    In this configuration, the connector and the motor can be handled in an integrated fashion. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0030]    The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 1 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view showing the structure of a motor connector according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 2 is a plane view showing a state in which the motor connector shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a drive section of a motor-type damper of a refrigerator;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive section of the motor-type damper shown in FIG. 2; and  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator using the motor-type damper shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0035]    There will now be described one embodiment in which a motor connector according to the invention and a motor incorporating the motor connector are applied to a damper device to be used in a refrigerator.  
         [0036]    A refrigerator  1  which is shown in FIG. 4 is divided into a freezer compartment  2 ; a refrigerator compartment  3 ; and a crisper drawer  4 . An evaporator  5  is disposed in the bottom of the freezer compartment  2 . A fan motor  6  is provided in the rear of the evaporator  5  and blows and circulates produced cold air to the freezer compartment  2 , the refrigerator compartment  3 , and the crisper drawer  4  as indicated by arrows. A partition panel  7  is interposed between the evaporator  5  and the refrigerator compartment  3 , thereby preventing the cold air produced by the evaporator  5  directly from flowing into the refrigerator compartment  3 .  
         [0037]    A ventilation path  8  for cold air is defined between the rear of the partition plate  7  and an inner rear wall of the refrigerator  1 . A motor-type damper  10  is fitted into a portion of the ventilation path  8  which is communicated with the crisper drawer  4 . More specifically, the damper  10  is fitted so as to constitute a portion of the ventilation path  8 . In other words, the damper  10  serves as a part of the ventilation path  8 . Another motor-type damper  10  is also provided in the back of the refrigeration compartment  3 . In the embodiment, two motor-type dampers  10  are thus provided. It may be the case that the dampers  10  are disposed not in both the refrigerator compartment  3  and the crisper drawer  4 , but in only one of these. Alternatively, in addition to these dampers  10 , another motor-type damper  10  may be provided for the freezer compartment  2 . Further alternatively, the motor-type dampers  10  may be attached to all the compartments.  
         [0038]    The structure of a drive section provided in the motor-type damper  10  will now be described.  
         [0039]    The drive section shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is for actuating two baffles  11   a ,  11   b . The drive section primarily comprises a case body  12  made of resin; a stepping motor  13  which is fixedly disposed in the case body  12  and serves as a two-way rotatable drive source; a reduction gear train  14  for decelerating rotation of the stepping motor  13  and transmitting the rotation; and driving gears  15  which serve as members for transmitting rotation of the stepping motor  13  to the baffles  11   a ,  11   b . A cover  12   a  is placed on an opening of the case body  12 .  
         [0040]    In the foregoing stepping motor  13 , a pair of motor bobbins  13   c ,  13   c , each having a drive coil (winding)  13   b  wound around its face, are provided in a motor case  13   a  assuming a substantially cylindrical shape. A rotor  13   e  which rotates integrally with a rotary shaft  13   d  is disposed inside the motor bobbins  13   c ,  13   c.    
         [0041]    Terminals of the drive coils (windings)  13   b  provided around the respective motor bobbins  13   c  are connected to and coiled around base portions of a plurality of coil terminals  13   f  which are provided so as to project radially outwards from an outer peripheral face of the motor case  13   a . A motor connector  20  which is connected directly to the plurality of coil terminals  13   f , as will be described later, is fitted to the motor case  13   a . An external connector provided at the extremity of a wire extending from an unillustrated external controller is engaged with and connected to the motor connector  20 .  
         [0042]    The motor connector  20  has a rectangular holder  21  formed from resin. A plurality of connection members  22  formed from conductive material are arranged in the holder  21 . The connection members  22  are embedded in the resin holder  21  by insert molding. An engagement leg  21   a  provided in the resin holder  21  is fitted to an edge of a lock section  13   g  which is formed so as to cut a portion of the motor case  13   a . The resin holder  21  of the motor connector  20  attached so as to constitute a part of the motor case  13   a  is attached to an indentation  12   a  formed in a side wall face of the resin case body  12  constituting a drive section of the damper, by inserting in an axial direction of the motor.  
         [0043]    The connection members  22  provided in the motor connector  20  are formed particularly into a shape such as that shown in FIG. 1. A motor-side engagement section  22   a  into which the motor coil terminal  13   f  is to be inserted and fitted is formed on one end of each connection member  22  (i.e., a lower end shown in FIG. 1). An connector-side engagement section  22   b , into which the previously-described external connector (not shown) is to be fitted, is formed on the other end of each connection member  22  (i.e., an upper end shown in FIG. 1).  
         [0044]    More specifically, the connection member  22  has an elongated main body  22   c  extending in substantially parallel with the axial direction of the stepping motor  13 . A motor-side engagement section  22   a  is provided at one end of the connection member  22  in the direction in which the main body  22   c  extends (i.e., the vertical direction in FIG. 1), and a connector-side engagement section  22   b  is provided at the other end of the connection member  22 . The motor-side engagement section  22   a  and the connector-side engagement section  22   b  are spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other with respect to the direction of a motor shaft (i.e., the vertical direction in FIG. 1).  
         [0045]    The connection member  22  is formed from a single conductive plate. In the conductive plate, a pair of main body pieces  22   c  are cantilevered by a connecting portion  22   d . The connector-side engagement section  22   b  is cantilevered by one end of the connecting portion  22   d . A free end of each main body piece  22   c  is formed with a piece  22   c   1  extending perpendicularly to the main body piece  22   c.    
         [0046]    In order to form the connection member  22  as shown in FIG. 1, the connecting portion  22   d  is so bent as to have a substantially U-shape. Accordingly, the main body pieces  22   c  (the pieces  22   c   1 ) are opposed to each other while defining a narrow gap therebetween. The gap defined by the pieces  22   c   1  serves as the motor-side engagement section  22   a , so that the coil terminal  13   f  of the stepping motor  13  is inserted thereinto and elastically held therein. Since the main body pieces  22   c  has elasticity, the elastic holding property can be ensured at the motor-side engagement section  22   a.    
         [0047]    The connector-side engagement section  22   b  has a terminal section  22   b   1  which extends downwardly. The aforesaid external connector (not shown) is fitted to the terminal section  22   b   1 . More specifically, the direction in which the external connector is to be removably attached to the connector-side engagement section  22   b  is set to a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the coil terminal  13   f  is to be removably attached to the motor-side engagement section  22   a  (i.e., the horizontal direction).  
         [0048]    According to the motor connector of the embodiment having such a construction, the coil terminal  13   f  of the motor bobbin  13   b  is connected directly to the motor-side engagement section  22   a  of the motor connector  20  without involvement of any other member. Hence, a simple and efficient connection operation is performed.  
         [0049]    In the motor connector of the embodiment, the motor connector  20  is fitted to the lock section  13   g  of the motor case  13   a , to thereby constitute a part of the motor case  13   a . The motor connector  20  is handled efficiently integral with the motor.  
         [0050]    In the motor connector of the embodiment, the direction in which the external connector is to be removably attached to the connector-side engagement section  22   b  of the motor connector  20  is set to a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the coil terminal  13   f  is to be removably attached to the motor-side engagement section  22   a  of the motor connector  20 . Hence, when the external connector is removed from or attached to the connector-side engagement section  22   b , the load stemming from removal or attachment of the external connector is not exerted directly on a connection portion between the motor-side engagement section  22   a  and the coil terminal  13   f.    
         [0051]    In the motor connector of the embodiment, the connecting portion  22   d  extending perpendicularly to the main body pieces  22   c  to connect them is bent so as to have a substantially U-shape. The entire rigidity of the motor connector  20  is efficiently improved by the connection member  22  of small geometry. Hence, an attempt is made to miniaturize the motor connector.  
         [0052]    In the motor connector of the embodiment, the motor-side engagement section  22   a  is readily formed by merely folding the connecting portion  22   d . Hence, productivity of the motor connector  20  is improved.  
         [0053]    In the motor connector of the embodiment, if the motor connector  20  is formed such that the connector is fitted to the stepping motor  13  so as to constitute a single unit, the operation required for attaching the motor connector  20  can be simplified or omitted.  
         [0054]    Although the embodiment of the invention conceived by the inventor has been described specifically, the invention is not limited to the embodiment. Needless to say, the invention is susceptible to various modifications within the scope thereof.  
         [0055]    Although the embodiment has described a case where the invention is applied to a damper of a refrigerator, the invention can also be applied to a variety of motor connectors other than the damper in the same manner.